The birds of Sussex

Cornell University

Library

The original of this book is in
the Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.

http :/Awww.archive.org/details/cu31924101523987

ALBERT R.. MANN LIBRARY

CORNELL UNIVERSITY

Edward P. Street, Jr.

TE NK Le aa ee)

CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

SU

1924 101 523 987

ll
3

-
f):

d.G Keulemaits del. et. lith Nintern Bros. Chromo lith.
THE GYRFALCON

Falco gyrfalco .

THE

BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

BY

WILLIAM BORRER, M.A, F.LS.,

MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION,

LONDON:
R. H, PORTER, 18 PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE
1891.

PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.

TO THE REVERED MEMORY OF

Gly Sather,

IN WHOSE BOTANICAL RAMBLES I WAS SO OFTEN ASSOCIATED,
AND FROM WHOM I INHERITED THAT LOVE OF NATURE
WHICH HAS BEEN AN EVER-SPRINGING
SOURCE OF ENJOYMENT THROUGHOUT A LONG LIFE,

{ DEDICATE THIS VOLUME.

PREFACE,

Ir is now nearly a hundred years since Markwick, the
friend and correspondent of Gilbert White, read before the
Linnean Society, on May 5th, 1795, his ‘Catalogue of
Birds found in the county of Sussex,’ numbering 168
species, including those which are domesticated. About
the year 1800, Mr. Woolgar, of Lewes, made a list of birds
observed by him in that neighbourhood, which may be found
in Horsfield’s ‘ History of Lewes.’ In 1849, Mr. Knox
published the. first edition, and in 1855 the third, of his
‘Ornithological Rambles in Sussex,’ quoted in this work as
“OQ. R.” Since that time, as faras I am aware, no attempt
has been made to give a comprehensive account of its
avifauna; there are, however, several local Societies,—as
those of Brighton, Chichester, Eastbourne, Hastings, and
Lewes,—which, from time to time, publish their ‘Trans-
actions,’ and doubtless do good work in their respective
districts. There is also a Museum at Chichester, and one
at Brighton, as well as the splendidly mounted collection
of the late Mr. Booth, recently made over to that town.
There have been, and there still are, many accurate observers
who contribute accounts of interesting occurrences in the
county to the pages of ‘The Zoologist,’ especially Mr.
Dutton, Mr. Jeffery, Mr. Monk, and Mr, Wilson, who for

many years have been its correspondents.

vi PREFACE,

Having been, through a long life, resident in the county,
and from my earliest years taken the greatest interest in
Ornithology, and being assured by friends, for whose
judgment I have the highest respect, that a further con-
tribution, enumerating the birds of Sussex up to the present
time, would be desirable, I have employed some leisure
hours in recording, partly from my own notes, and partly
from those kindly placed at my disposal by friends and
correspondents of many years, such facts as I deemed might
be of interest in illustrating the nature and habits of our
native birds.

These I have supplemented by information from various
ancient and modern sources, to which I have, in every case,
given references, and have brought up the number of the
birds of the county to 297, following the arrangement and
nomenclature of the 4th edition of ‘ Yarrell’s British Birds.’
In conclusion, I beg to offer my most cordial acknowledg-
ments to those who have so kindly assisted me, and chiefly
to Professor Newton, to whom I am greatly indebted not
only for looking over my manuscript, but also for many
invaluable suggestions, and without whose kindly encourage-
ment I should not, at my advanced age, have undertaken the
work. To J. E. Harting, Esq., F.L.S., who has favoured
me with several original and useful notes; to the Rev.
R. N. Dennis, formerly Rector of East Blatchington, a
friend and correspondent of many years; to Mr. Ellman;
formerly of Glynde, Mr. Jeffery, of Ratham, Chichester, and
T. Parkin, Esq., of Hastings, who most kindly placed at my
disposal their private notes, extending over a long period;
and quoted as p.n.; and to many other ladies: and gentle-
men, some personally unknown to me, who have most

PREFACE. vii

courteously replied to my enquiries, or volunteered informa-
tion, in many cases taking considerable trouble on my
behalf, I tender my most sincere thanks.

I would also desire to record my obligations to the several
Taxidermists of our towns, who have most obligingly
furnished me with notices and particulars of rare species,
which have, from time to time, come into their hands,
especially Messrs. Pratt, of Queen’s Road, Brighton, whom
I have known for many years, and have always found most
intelligent and reliable; Mr. Bristow, the well-known
naturalist of St. Leonard’s-on-Sea; Mr. Bates, of East-
bourne; Mr. Brazenor, of Western Road, Brighton; Mr.
Ellis, of Arundel; Mr. May, of East Grinstead; and Mr.
Potter, now of Carlisle.

The few plates with which this work is embellished are by
the pencil of Mr. J. G. Keulemans, the Gyr Falcon and
the Honey Buzzard being portraits of specimens in my own
collection.

W. BORRER,

CowFoLp, SUSSEX.
November, 1890.

INTRODUCTION.

ae)

On putting forth this little account of the ‘ Birds of Sussex,’
it may perhaps be well to give a general idea of the natural
features of the county, which measures about seventy-six
miles in length by some twenty-seven in breadth. It is
bounded on the north by Surrey and Kent; on the south by
the English Channel, the coast line being about eighty-six
miles in extent ; on,the east by Kent, and on the west by
Hants. The geological formation of Sussex may, speaking
generally, be divided into three principal portions through-
out its whole length: namely that of the Chalk, comprising
the South and Western Downs ; the Weald, consisting
chiefly of what is known as Wealden Clay; and the Sand,
which forms a narrow band between the two. Besides these
there are comparatively small deposits of Bracklesham and
London clays, of which the most considerable extends about
ten miles south from Chichester to Selsey Bill, and about
twenty east and west from the boundaries of Hants to
within a few miles of Worthing, being, however, now and
then broken into by the Chalk. Again, about the courses of
the rivers, there are narrow alluvial deposits, becoming
wider towards their mouths, and at the eastern end of the
county are two large beds of alluvium, blown sand, and
shingle, forming the Levels of Pevensey, Rye, and Winchel-
sea. The ancient forest of Anderida is described by the

x INTRODUCTION.

Venerable Bede, about the year 731, as “thick and inacces-
sible,” and as a place of shelter for large herds of deer and
swine, as well as wolves; and we learn from the Saxon
Chronicle that in a.v. 893 it extended from east to west
one hundred and twenty miles, and from north to south
from eighty to ninety miles, making it nearly co-extensive
with the Weald in Sussex, Kent, and Surrey. It is now so
greatly curtailed by clearing and by cultivation that little
remains but the forests of St. Leonard, Tilgate, and Ash-
down. From the time of the Romans to that of Charles II.,
large portions of these forests were greatly reduced by the
practice of felling trees for charcoal, to be used in the
extensive manufacture of iron; but in his reign, on account
of the great destruction of the oak-timber consumed in
smelting it, the portion now known as St. Leonard’s was
disforested, and made a deer-park, thus, of course, doing
more harm than good, as every young oak was browsed
down by the deer. There is a small portion of the ancient
woodland called Charlton Forest, situated on the north slope
of the Western Downs, the only part of them which still has
native timber. The whole of the county, however, with the
exception of the Downs and the levels of the rivers, is still
very well wooded, as may be seen by any one looking down
upon it from their summits. This is, in a great measure,
caused by the practice of the original reclaimers, of leaving
a strip of wood, in this county called a Shaw, of several
yards in width, around each enclosure for the preservation
of timber, the oak of Sussex being considered the best in
existence for the use of the Navy; and it is still the pre-
vailing tree throughout the county, though more especially
on the clay, There are two distinct species, the Quercus
pedunculata, or robur, and the Q. sessiliflora, of which the
former is by far the commoner, and, from its greater dura-
bility, very superior as timber to the latter for naval purposes.

INTRODUCTION. xi

The Q. sessiliflora is found in various parts of the county,
for example near Cowfold and Cuckfield, and in several
parts of St. Leonard’s Forest, as at Coolhurst and Slaugham,
and to the westward at Goodwood. This oak, though
undoubtedly indigenous, but not so common in Sussex as in
some other counties, is said to have been largely increased
by the introduction into some parts of England, several
ages ago, of large importations from the Continent,
especially from the forests of Germany. It has been said
that the numerous complaints of our ships being infected
with what is generally called dry-rot were owing to the
introduction of this species into our naval dockyards, where
the distinction was not even suspected until a very few years
since. However this may be when it is used in so confined
a situation as the hold of a ship, it has been indisputably
proved that the timber of Quercus sessiliflora is exceedingly
durable in places exposed to a free current of air; for the
roofs of many of our oldest buildings, for example, those of
Westminster Hall and St. Alban’s Abbey, are certainly built
of it, though the timbers had been long mistaken for Spanish
chestnut, and are still found to be in good condition *.
With respect to the belt of sand, which extends from near
Petersfield, on the borders of Hants, to Pevensey Level in
the east of Sussex, a considerable extent of the western
portion of it is occupied by heath. Other parts, however,
are capable of the highest cultivation.

Having now given a slight sketch of the interior of the
county, I pass to the coast, which, from Brighton to East-
bourne, consists of cliffs rising to various heights from the
former town till they attain their greatest elevation, some

* See a paper read by Mr. Wyatt Papworth, at a meeting of the
Royal Institute of British Architects, held on June 14, 1858, and
observations by the same gentleman at another meeting of that body on
May 20th, 1878.

xii INTRODUCTION.

six hundred feet, at Beachy Head, or, as it was formerly
spelt, Beauchef Head, and indeed it well deserves this
appellation. Here the cliffs terminate abruptly, and Peven-~
sey Level continues till beyond Hastings, the sandy cliffs
there being low and gradually falling to the Levels of
Rye and Winchelsea. Westward of Brighton the coast is
level and somewhat flat, and so continues to the border
of Hants.

Of the Rivers of Sussex, none of which are of any size,
beginning from the east, we have the Rother, which rises
in the parish of Rotherfield, and, passing Mayfield, receives
a small tributary from Wadhurst, and flowing by Etching-
ham and Salehurst, enters Kent, and returning to Sussex,
south of the Isle of Oxney, expands into an estuary, and
falls into the sea about two miles south-east of the town of
Rye. The Cuckmere, rising not far from Heathfield, forms
near its mouth a narrow tract of level country, which seems
particularly attractive to Wildfowl in the winter, the sea
there being somewhat sheltered by cliffs, enabling them to
spend their days upon the water in comparative quietude,
the grassy marshes affording convenient feeding-places by
night. The Ouse rises partly near Slaugham, on the
borders of St. Leonard’s Forest, and partly near Worth, and
uniting its streams, meanders eastward through a well-
wooded and cultivated tract of country, and receiving
several inconsiderable affluents, passes through the exten-
sive Levels of Lewes to the sea at Newhaven.

The springs of the Adur (profanely called the Weald
Ditch) rise under the Downs, near Clayton, and joining two
small streams from Bolney and Cuckfield, near the bridge
at Wyndham, it proceeds to Mock Bridge, there receiving
another tributary from the Leach Pond in St. Leonard’s
Forest, and all flow together to Eaton’s Farm, in the parish
of Henfield, where a branch falls in, which, rising near

INTRODUCTION. xiii

Itchingfield, passes through West Grinstead and Shipley to
the Henfield Level. There another branch is received,
rising from between the Chalk and Greensand under the
Devil’s Dyke; the united streams then, passing Bramber,
fall into the sea at Shoreham.

The Arun, the largest of our rivers, rises near the great
pond at Ifield, whence it flows through the mill-pond at
Warnham into the parish of Slinfold, and nearly to Lox-
wood, near which it joins a stream originating under Leith
Hill, in Surrey, and passing a little east of Wisborough
Green, receives a tributary from Shillinglee Park and
another from the Hawkins, Hammer, and Birchin ponds,
near Horsham. It then receives the Western Rother
(which rises in Black Down) about halfway between Stop-
ham and Pulborough, and flowing through the wide meadows,
formerly marshes, known as Amberley Wildbrook, and’ past
the town of Arundel, reaches the sea at Littlehampton.

The Lavant, which, often dry for months, is remarkable
for being fullest of water in the hottest weather, rises from
under the Chalk in Charlton Forest, and flows by Chichester
into the estuary known as Chichester Harbour, near the
village of Wittering. ;

These rivers are all of them subject to heavy floods, from
the narrowness of their mouths, and the enormous drainage
of the country, proving, of course, very attractive to many
‘species of birds. Pagham Harbour, which was formerly a
‘perfect paradise for the ornithologist, has now, unfortunately
for him, entirely disappeared, the sea having been a few
years since banked out, and the mud-lands reclaimed and
brought under cultivation. The estuary forming Chichester
Harbour extends from Fishbourne to the sea, and is some
-seven miles in length; soon after being joimed by Bosham
Creek, it expands into a large sheet of water nearly three
miles in width, to the border of the county at Emsworth

xiv INTRODUCTION,

Channel, and contains the Isle known as Thorney Island.
It measures, from Prinsted to the sea, about five miles, the
whole of this being, at low water, on both sides of its central
channel, a vast extent of muddy banks and flats, very
attractive to Waders and Seafowl in the summer, and in the
winter the resort of various Ducks and other birds.

The many changes of the last half-century have greatly
interfered with ornithology in this county, as in others.
The whole of Sussex is now intersected with railways, not
only inland but along the coast, nearly the whole of what
may be called the maritime district being traversed by a
line of rails extending from Brighton to the extreme western
limit of the county, the whistle of the steam-engine takiug
the place of that of the Wildfowl and the Wader. The
estuaries, formerly abounding in these species, are now far
more disturbed by traffic than they used to be; and much
of the marsh-land has been brought under cultivation. The
last of the grand morasses of the western division, the
Amberley Wildbrook, is converted into so-called smiling
meadows, re-echoing with the lowing of cattle instead of
the hollow boom of the Bittern and the croak of the Heron.
The Downs too, once the peaceful haunt of the Bustard and
the Lapwing, or disturbed only by the shepherd and his
flock, are now to a great extent broken up by cultivation,
and harassed by the rattle of the steam-plough. The cliffs
have in many places been scarped down, or shattered by the
engineer, thus destroying the favourite resorts of many
wild birds. The inland aspect of the county, too, is much
changed from what it was in former times. Where are the
splendid stretches of heather? the sedgy bottoms? and
where are the Black Game ?

The whole tribe, too, of Hawks and Owls, though to a
certain extent destructive, were useful to the Game pre-
server and the farmer,—to the one by destroying the weakly

INTRODUCTION. xv

individuals, and thus leaving only the most healthy birds
for the stock of game; to the other by keeping down
the multitude of rats, mice, and other vermin which do the
farm more injury than all the birds of prey have ever done,
and which have most destructively increased throughout the
county in general, a state of things which can never be
remedied till every country gentleman gives strict orders to
his keepers to carefully preserve all birds of prey, and sees
that his instructions are carried out. At the present time
these birds have either entirely ceased to breed in the
county, or have become so diminished in numbers, that
with the exception of the really mischievous Sparrow-hawk
and the harmless Kestrel, a bird of prey is rarely to be met
with. To these causes may be added the wholesale destruc-
tion of small birds by the bird-catchers, the increased
population, and the constant improvement in firearms of all
kinds.

On the other hand, however, we have derived a certain
degree of benefit by the late Acts of Parliament for the
preservation of many species during the breeding-season,
and from the increasing attention given to Natural History
in general.

Notwithstanding all the drawbacks I have mentioned,
the county still presents an interesting field for future
investigation, and in the woodland districts there are still
abundance of songsters and other of the migratory birds,
though on the clay-land I have observed that there are
fewer individuals, though perhaps not fewer species, than on
the sandy districts, but a very few miles off ; a circumstance
which I think may perhaps be attributed to the comparative
lightness of the soil there affording greater facilines for
dusting, which all birds at times require, and which the
weaker species find some difficulty in obtaining on the clay,
as when the weather has been wet it is a long time before

xvi INTRODUCTION.

the soil will pulverize, and when very dry it is too hard for
them to be able to scratch it up.

Although I am quite sensible of many defects in my work,
and have made no attempt at science, I still hope that it
may be found of some interest to the general reader as well
as to lovers of Ornithology, and may tend to make known
the present state of the Bird-life of the county; and as will,
I think, be seen, no pains have been spared in verifying the
occurrence of the rarer examples. It only remains to me
to mention my reasons for omitting a few which have been
accepted as Sussex birds; and first, respecting the Golden
Eagle. Though Markwick mentions it as having occurred
at Bexhill, he does so on very insufficient evidence, and
there can be little doubt that he was mistaken, for the
following reasons: he makes no allusion whatever to the
White-tailed, Sea, or Cinereous Eagle, which has occurred
several times in that very district, and in his time fhe
different species of Eagles were not properly distinguished.
The Golden Eagle, too, has never since been seen in the
county ; thus it may be fairly concluded that the bird he
records was nothing more than the White-tailed Eagle,
The Canada Goose, as its name implies, is a Nearctic
species; I have not included it because, though specimens
have been frequently met with in Sussex, there is little
doubt that all have been escaped birds bred on, or in the
neighbourhood of, the numerous pieces of water on which
they have been for many years kept in a semi-domesticated
state, and whence young birds, which could not be captured.
and pinioned, naturally, especially in severe weather, dis-
perse over the country in search of food. To the Egyptian
Goose, an African species, the foregoing remarks will equally
apply. The Hooded Merganser, as I have explained in my
account of the Goosander, has been erroneously mentioned
as a Sussex bird.

INTRODUCTION. xvii

Concerning the Owls formerly in the Keep of Arundel
Castle, which I believe were generally supposed to be Eagle
Owls, and were mentioned as such by Mr. Knox in O. R.
p. 91, as they were for many years a great attraction to
visitors, a few words may be expected, though they have no
claim to be called Sussex birds. I may say that when I saw
them many years ago I had no doubt that they were the
Virginian species, in which opinion I am confirmed by the
following notice in ‘The Beauties of England and Wales,’
vol xiv. p. 82, by F. Shoberl, where, speaking of the Keep
of Arundel Castle, he says: “The Owls which are kept here
were a present to the Duke from North America.” This
was published in 1813. Mr. J. H. Gurney kindly made
enquiries for me of the present Duke, who most courteously
gave all the information in his power, stating that he
believed it to be the fact that the Owls were introduced
into the Keep by Charles, the 11th Duke, who died in 1815,
and that some were still remaining when he himself came
to the title in 1860, but that during his minority they
gradually disappeared from the Castle, though two were
remaining in a garden in the town up to the end of 1869.
Mr. Mostyn, the Duke’s agent, kindly forwarded me a
letter from an old man, for many years the custodian of the
Owls, who states that they occasionally bred in the Keep,
producing but one egg in the season, and hatching it; but
in 1859 one bird laid three eggs, which produced three fine
young, which grew to maturity. One of the Owls, which
had long been known as “ Lord Thurlow,” at last laid an egg,
which was the subject of considerable amusement. Mr.
Gurney had a cutting from the ‘ West Sussex Gazette’ of
1859, stating that one of the Arundel Owls, believed to be
the original “ Lord Thurlow,” had just died, supposed to be
about a hundred years old.

Three were at one time several Decoys in the county :

b

xviil INTRODUCTION.

at Firle, the only one now worked, the captures at which are
very small; at Tangmere, Angmering, Tortington, Glynde;
and Peasmarsh, all of which have ceased to be worked, on
account of the increased drainage and the disturbance
caused by the railways; but all my attempts to obtain any
of the Decoy books, or indeed any information as to the
number or species formerly captured, or anything whatever
beyond what has been stated by Sir Ralph Payne Gallwey,
in his lately published interesting and exhaustive work,
‘The Book of Duck Decoys,’ have failed, except in the
case of that at Ratton, the proprietor of which, Freeman
Thomas, Esq., most courteously forwarded me a book of
entries dating from 1793 to 1827, and from 1852 to 1861.
The only species mentioned are the Wild Duck, Teai and
Wigeon, Winders, which name is applied to the Wigeon,
though I never before heard of the term in Sussex, and.
Divers, which may allude to the Scaup Duck, which is
generally known by this name. Of these, the numbers
caught from 1793 to 1827 were, of Ducks 2903, of Teal 446,
of Wigeon only 2. There is no further entry till 1852,
from which date to 1861 there appear to have been taken,
of Ducks 8226, of Teal 5075, of Wigeon 175. Besides
these there are recorded 827 head of Ducks and Teal
mingled together, as well as 25 Winders and 7 Divers. My
thanks are also due to E. J. Mostyn, Esq., the agent to the
Duke of Norfolk, who most kindly forwarded to me a copy
of the information supplied to Sir Ralph Payne Gallwey.

In conclusion I will only add, that as I have found it
a life-long pleasure to investigate the works of the Creator,
so wonderfully and beautifully displayed in the Natural
History of the “ Fowls of the air,” so I hope that the
results of my studies, thus presented in this volume, may
help those who come after me to enjoy the same pleasure.

Tpodrearyy wopnoy wos dymy aftvag

x f OF I H 9 -0 a a a 108 2 & v
T D N Cf
LYS YORT SOM
TN 00872,
we ee
vy xy rt wBeiog v
“Op a Beta coll in
i eo P
CN * Ci A
% 2 ‘a fmonbog, S
PS ub | $a 2, &, anys paniog ge — "
Ais <6 Figs | RL gdor| “IES
a Fits ios :
OS | Se, “p. 7 Se el EY STHOUPO™
oy ade 1B aa pi tu A se 3 28a yo,
i ° aed a asta yoy ao Cumeng TH
Eo es Pri Poot -argeeniteg
Fi doe, e aay © "Ey a it gel e
are OS Rn ae ll
f BL g g Tet. gsauQ,
CaP ee roping on i Le J) ap.
190M” bereyg yt
Sy ; : u
a JUD YTAS|
el mai ry aa a _ “te
geenyngy ® f aa, sienzn. Re i
AD Y os. eps OS CoLORNOT. ay Fg SAIS
eave ) repr N
\ymnoboeaN | rien, ON
ener y | aucun. VY oe
e lm, 3
Sd ae aa. a
yoouguns7 geo ie \ = eng yen 7 WY z
ca e fou mn a&
iy a 7 oe YY
sae. 2 (0280 7) 1d i
ay
? aaoidTin9 Ea '
ar spiny — spooy, -ohomggoy t
L 4
4 uaquieut [ Gurnsmngqoa yous SUOLBIAIT
Aropusucormsoy ayy spuasasdad GUjMN}OD PUT
Allie N wee soocre o 27re
ome ar g
40 ALNNOO THE
| !
a tr 108 2 | a | v

THE

BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

FALCONIDE. :

WHITE-TAILED EAGLE.
Halicetus albicilla.

An Eagle of this species was shot at-Shoreham by the land-
lord of the Dolphin Hotel in that place, where I saw it in
1841. It was in immature plumage, and had been killed
some years before. In one of my own notes, made at the
time, I find that a specimen of this Eagle was killed in 1839
near Newhaven. The white was just beginning to show on
the outer feathers at the base of the tail. This bird passed
into the hands of Mr. H. Morgan, then of Lugwardine,
Herefordshire. Having seen in the ‘Sussex Express’ news-
paper of December 30, 1844, a notice of an Hagle taken near
Northheath, I wrote to the late Mr. Knox, who replied :—
“The Eagle to which you refer is an immature Sea-
Eagle trapped in one of the large woods on the Cowdray
estate.” In the early spring I have twice seen an Eagle
pass over—one at Portslade, the other at Henfield,—both going
B

2 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

eastward, but have not the dates. In a letter from Mr. R.
N. Dennis, dated February 22nd, 1855, he informs me that
an Eagle was seen by one of the men of the Coastguard, near
Seaford. The bird had established himself on a high spit of
beach, which became an island at high tide, to which he
carried his prey in order to dine in security, and from
whence he kept a vigilant look-out on all around. He was
quite unapproachable, but the Preventive men could watch
all his proceedings with the glass with the greatest ease, as
he was in full view of them from their station-house.

On the 26th of December, 1864, as I was in a vehicle
about a mile and a half eastward of Henfield, my attention
was attracted to a large brown mass, near the top of an oak
tree. As I could not satisfy myself that it was a bird at all,
I asked the driver what he thought of it. He, not hearing
what I said, immediately stopped the carriage, by which
means the brown mass, being only about a hundred yards off,
was startled, and, on its rising up, we could distinctly see
that it was an Eagle, and that the tail was entirely white.
It then glided away towards a large wood, and we last saw it
flying eastward; but I was informed that it was seen again
the next day, not far from the spot where we first observed
it. This bird was, of course, adult; and as I learn, on
the best authority, that in no other instance, of late years,
has an adult Sea-Eagle been reported in England in a wild
state, this circumstance rather leads to the suggestion that
the one we saw might have escaped from confinement. In
Mr. Knox’s O. R. (pp. 40, 48) several occurrences of the
Sea-Eagle are mentioned, viz.:—the one before referred to
at the Dolphin Hotel at Shoreham ; another, shot in 1841 at
Rottingdean, where it had been observed for about a month ;
a third, killed at Windmill Hill, in the parish of Wartling,
in January 1844; as well as a fourth on Pevensey Level
about 1845. Beside these, one is mentioned as having been

WHITE-TAILED EAGLE.—OSPREY. $

trapped in one of the large woods on the Cowdray estate,
which must be distinct from that recorded as taken on the
same estate just when the first edition of that work was
passing through the press, namely in 1849. The ‘ Zoologist’
records :—* A magnificent specimen of this Eagle was shot in
December 1859, feeding on a dead turtle, at Birling gap.
It had been seen in the neighbourhood for several days”
(p. 6889). A female Eagle, in fine plumage, taken while
feeding on a gull, near Shoreham; she had the tail about two
thirds white, and was preserved by Mr. Pratt, of Brighton
(p. 8875). And another immature specimen, shot by the
head keeper of Lord Gage, in the Compton Wood, Firle
Park, preserved by Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton (p. 1512).
An immature bird was obtained at Shoreham harbour, in
February 1881, where it had been seen for a few days feeding
on the rejectamenta on the beach, picking up its food near
the water, and retiring with it to the full of the beach, where
it was very difficult to approach. As this term full of the
beach may very probably be an expression which, except to
an inhabitant of the coast of Sussex, might not be intelli-
gible, I will here explain that it is applied by the sailors,
fishermen, coastguard, and all whose vocations lead them to
pass a large portion of their lives on the beach, to that part
of it which has been cast up to a higher point than the rest
by some unusually high tide, and remains the highest point,
till again removed by some remarkable storm, or some still
more extraordinary tide.

OSPREY.
Pandion halicetus.

On June 14th, 1843, I saw one of these birds flying near
some large ponds at Bolney, and I heard, from Mr. Marshall
B2

4 ; THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

of that place, that it had been for some days observed. there,
fishing with great, success. After catching a fish, it retired
to some neighbouring trees, and, when it left the pond
altogether, it always took a north-westerly direction, some-
times carrying a fish with it, It, at, first, visited the ponds
daily, and was tolerably approachable, but, after having been
twice ineffectually shot at, it came much less frequently,
until its last appearance on July 2nd. About the same time
I saw an Osprey capture, and fly away with, a good-sized
tench, from a pond a few hundred yards from my house at
Cowfold. I say tench, as there is no other kind of fish in
the pond. As Cowfold is only some three miles from Bolney,
this was probably the same bird.

On the Ist of September, 1843, two Ospreys were seen
fishing and settling on some trees on the north side of the
Upper Mill pond at Bolney, but could not be approached
within shot. These birds were observed abot the ponds:
and neighbouring brooks during the whole of October.

On September the 16th, 1866, I saw an Osprey in the
second year’s plumage, which had been shot at Bishopstone,
and was being preserved by Mr. Pratt, of Brighton; it was
too much injured by shot for the sex to be distinguished.
About the same time and. place another, but this was
neglected and spoiled.

In O. BR. (p. 45) the Bolney birds are mentioned from
notes given by me to the author, who also records a female
killed at Lye Pond, near Cuckfield, a specimen shot near
Amberley in 1846, and another at Siddlesham. The bird
mentioned in O. R. (p. 48) as knocked down by a shepherd
boy with his crook, came into my possession, and was given
by me to Mr. H. Morgan, of Lugwardine in Herefordshire.
This was a fully adult bird. .

The Osprey has been shot on the Adur at Shoreham, and
on the. same river at Beeding, and has occurred near

OSPREY.—GYRFALCON. 5

Chichester and Brighton, on Pevensey Level, and at Rye
Harbour (O. R. p. 46).

Mr. Dennis informed me, by letter, that an Osprey had
been shot on the Castle Hill, Newhaven, on the 23rd of
August, 1862, and observed that he had not heard of one in
that neighbourhood for eighteen years. In November 1848
an Osprey was killed at Udimore (Zoologist, p. 2346), and
in September 1867 one was shot at West Wittering, and
about the same time another specimen was obtained at
Littlehampton (Zoologist, p. 1034).

The Osprey being, in England, strictly migratory, not
unfrequently occurs in an adult state, whereas with the
Eagle exactly the contrary is the case.

Since writing the above, I have received notes from
Mr. Jeffery, in which he states that an Osprey was killed at
Stanstead, near Chichester, on the 16th of October, 1863.

GYRFALCON.
Falco gyrfaleo.

On ty one specimen of this bird appears to have occurred in
Sussex, and it is now in my own collection. I obtained it
from Mr. Ellman, who informed me that it had been shot at
Mayfield in January 1845, during severe weather; it was in
the act of devouring a pigeon on the top of a wheat-stack.
Mr. Ellman had had it some years when I saw it, and he
considered it to be a light-coloured specimen of F. pere-
grinus; but I convinced, him that it was one of the Gyr-
falcons, and he has recorded it as such in the ‘ Zoologist’
for 1851 (p. 3233), stating it to be an “immature” bird.
In Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds, vol. i. (p. 49), the same bird
is-mentioned, from my information, as F. islandicus, which

6 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

I then considered it to be; and it is also so recorded
in Mr. Harting’s ‘Handbook of British Birds,’ on my
authority.

In order to rectify my unfortunate error, I quote the fol-
lowing from ‘ Zoologist’ for 1884 (p. 271) :—“ This specimen
subsequently passed into the collection of Mr. Borrer, of
Cowfold, where I had recently the pleasure of examining it,
and of identifying it as a genuine example of Hierofalco
gyrfalco, not ‘immature’ as stated by Mr. Ellman, but in
fully adult plumage and in excellent preservation. The very
great rarity of British specimens of this Falcon induces me
to record my opinion that this example is referable to
H. gyrfaico, and not, as catalogued in Mr, Harting’s ‘ Hand-
book of British Birds,’ to H. islandicus J. H. Gurney,
Northrepps, Norwich.”

I have therefore no hesitation in designating this specimen
as above. .

This species has not hitherto been recorded as British. In
Yarrell, vol. i. p. 47, is this observation :—“ It is quite pos-
sible that examples of the true Gyr Falcon have occurred in
these islands, and have been mistaken for the commoner
form.”

GREENLAND FALCON.
Falco candicans.

Lixr the last-mentioned species, I can find but one example
of this Falcon occurring in Sussex.

It was a female in good plumage, shot on Sept. 26th, 1882,
on the top of Bullock’s Hill, near Balsdean, in the Lewes
neighbourhood ; and being taken into Lewes market, was
bought by Mr. Monk, who sent it to Brighton to be preserved

GREENLAND FALCON, —PEREGRINE FALCON. 7

by Mr. Swaysland. It had been seen for some time on the
Downs. While it was in his possession it was seen by
Mr. Gurney, who thus records his opinion :—“I found it to

be a fine adult Hierofalco candicans (Gmel.), of a medium = ~

character as regards the extent of its dark markings, but I
think inclining to the light rather than to the darker phase
of this very variable species. This bird, when shot, had just
completed its moult, except as to the quill-feathers of the
wings and tail: in the latter only two new feathers had yet
appeared, both lateral and one on either side.” (‘ Zoologist,’
1883, p. 80.)

PEREGRINE FALCON.
Falco peregrinus.

Tus bird is resident in the county. A note of my own
states that an adult female was caught in a trap near Lewes,
April 18th, 1841.

In July of the same year I saw, at Brighton, two examples
alive, which had been taken from the nest at Beachy Head
on the previous 23rd of May. The male was very tame, but
the female was very fierce when interfered with. She made
her escape while I was looking at her, and flew over several
houses, but allowed herself to be taken again by the man
who was accustomed to feed her. Some months afterwards
these birds came into my possession, and the male, which had
just obtained his full plumage, made his escape, and was shot
while sitting on a chimney about half a mile off, and was
brought to me, and is now in my own collection. I have
next recorded an adult male shot at Seaford, March 2nd,
1842. In September of that year I saw one on the wing
near Henfield, which passed me within about 80 yards.

8 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

An interesting account of the Peregrine Falcon in Sussex
is given in O. R. (p. 106), in which reference is made to
its breeding-places in the high cliffs of Beachy Head and
Newhaven, and to specimens appearing in the western division
of the county, in the neighbourhood of Chichester, Petworth,
and Arundel, as well as in Jocalities nearer to their breeding-
places, as Lewes, Newhaven, Seaford, Pevensey, and Rye.
One is also recorded as having been taken under the eaves of
a barn with a sparrow-net, at Saddescombe, near the Devil’s
Dyke. Mr. Booth, in his ‘ Rough Notes on British Birds,’
writes that the chalky cliffs between Rottingdean and Beachy
Head harbour great numbers of Peregrines in autumn and
winter. The ‘ Zoologist’ contains several references to the
capture of these birds, both young and mature :—

In May 1849 three taken from the nest (p. 2494), a femaie
near Eastbourne in December 1859 (p. 6889), and one
killed near Arundel in April 1868 (p. 2059, s.s.). There
are also recorded in the volume for 1881 (p. 49) a young
male killed near Earnley, in West Sussex ; and in the volume
for 1882 (p. 114), a male in fine plumage shot near Hastings
in November 1879, and another male shot in Bromham Park,
near Guestling, about the same time.

It is very astonishing that, considering the constant per-
secution by gunners of every description, and the frequent
harrying of the nests for both eggs and young, this Falcon
has not long since abandoned the locality, instead of which
I have been repeatedly assured that on the destruction of one
of either sex, its place has very shortly afterwards been taken
by a new arrival. This may do very well for a time, so long
as supplementary spouses are to be met with; but it is
obvious that, with the constantly decreasing numbers of this
fine species around our coasts, the day will come, and indeed
is probably not far off, when the stock left will be insuf-
ficient to furnish the supply.

HOBBY. 9

HOBBY.

Fatco subbuteo.

A suUMMER visitant, making its appearance in April and
leaving the country, on migration, in the autumn, a few
occasionally remaining rather late. I am not aware of its
having been found breeding in Sussex, or of any very young
birds having been obtained. It feeds on beetles and dragon-
flies, as well as on small birds &c. It is said to be partial
to the deserted nest of a Carrion-Crow as a site for rearing
its young.

I have but few references respecting this species in my
own notes. One was seen on the shore near Worthing, on
the 13th of May, 1841, and another, an immature bird, was
shot at Poynings on August 15th of the same year. I have
also noted that a mature male was shot at Cowfold while
attempting to take a young tame Pigeon, which he had struck,
close to a farmhouse, on April 25th, 1879. In the autumn,
about 1880, a Hobby was picked up in the garden of the
vicarage at Cowfold, and was kindly sent to me by the vicar.
This, which is a mature male, had apparently been killed by
flying against one of the windows of the house. A few years
since an adult bird was sent from Pagham to my friend
Mr, Harting, while he was on a visit to me at Cowfold.

The late Mr. Knox, in his O. R. (pp. 113 to 115), men-
tions the courage and address of one of these birds in pur-
suit of a wounded Partridge, and that of another which he
shot near Petworth while chasing a Turtle-Dove; and also
notes that there is a specimen of the Hobby in Chichester
Museum, which was shot at Halnaker in September 1836,
and that he “had observed it near the great beech-woods
during the autumn, and, indeed, it is at this season that the
Hobby is generally killed.”

10 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

RED-LEGGED FALCON.

Falco vespertinus.

A veERY rare summer visitant. In Mr. Dresser’s ‘ Birds
of Europe,’ vol. vi. p. 94, it is stated that one was shot
at Rottingdean in 1851, by Mr. Howard Saunders. I
wrote to the latter for further particulars, and, in his reply,
dated Oct. 6, 1889, he informed me that he, being at school at
the late Dr. Smith’s at Rottingdean, and one of the senior
boys there, was allowed to take the Doctor’s walking-
stick gun and wander about in his kitchen-garden to
shoot small birds. This garden was fringed with sycamores
up to the height at which the wind caught them, and sud-
denly the Falco vespertinus alighted on a branch, and he shot
it. It was a female or young male, and was mounted in
Brighton for Dr. Smith, who had a dozen or so of stuffed
birds. Dr. Smith died about 1864, and Mr. Howard Saunders
does not know what has become of them.

The late Mr. Rowley, in his ‘ Ornithological Miscellany,’
vol. i. pt. 2, has the following:—The Red-legged Falcon
paid the Brighton downs a visit on May 20, 1873, when
an adult male arrived, of which I sent an account to the
‘Field,’ May 24. I received two sorts of beetle on which
it had been feeding. This bird two days after death
became very high, as is usually the case with those which
live on beetles and some other insects. This pretty little
Falcon breeds in flocks.” I saw this at Mr. Swaysland’s, in
the flesh.

In the 4th ed. of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ it is merely
mentioned that the bird has occurred in Sussex.

MERLIN. ll

MERLIN.
Falco esalon.

"On Nov. 8rd, 1842, a female was shot at Bosham. On the
19th of Feb., 1844, I saw, near Cowfold, a Merlin rise from
the side of a hedge, mount perpendicularly to some height,
and again descend close to the same spot, whence it flew off
very rapidly, not more than a foot above the ground, over a
ploughed field close to the road. It was so close to me at
first that I had a good view of the slate-blue colour of the
upper parts, showing it to be an adult male. On Jan. 7th,
1852, an immature female was shot at Henfield, where I
saw it at the shop of Peter Ward, gunsmith. I have often
seen this bird on the open downs in winter. According to
Mr. Knox, it prefers the open country to the weald. It
nests on the ground, but I have never heard of its having
done so in Sussex.

Mr. Booth states that “on the South Downs these Hawks
are not unfrequently captured in the nets of the bird-
catchers. At times they dash suddenly down, with an
impetuous swoop, and destroy the brace-birds. Occasionally
they approach in a more cautious manner. I have noticed
them to settle first at some short distance, and then to draw
on towards their intended victims. In one instance a very
young Falcon alighted on the pull-line, where it remained
for several minutes, regardless of half a dozen persons within
a distance of twenty yards, its attention being apparently
entirely engrossed by the decoys in the net.”

In the ‘Zoologist? Mr. Ellman writes that a mature
female Merlin was shot at Rye Harbour, in February 1849,
and that this species appeared, in rather considerable num-
bers, in the neighbourhood of Lewes early i in October in that

12 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

year, five specimens falling into the hands of the same person
in a very few days. Also that one was brought to him taken
alive near Lewes, September 18th, 1850 (pp. 2410, 2698,
and 2953).

In the same journal (p. 9465) Mr. Dutton states that a
male Merlin, with the blue back, was shot at Abbotswood,
near Hailsham, early in January 1865.

This species is entirely a winter visitant, appearing in
autumn and departing in spring.

KESTREL.
Falco tinnunculus.

Is resident, as well as partially migratory.

When the Magpie and the Carrion-Crow abounded in the
woods, this Hawk might frequently be found to take posses-
sion of their deserted nests for its breeding purposes; those
birds, however, have now become comparatively scarce,
which may in some degree account for the Kestrel being
also less commonly met with than it was in former days.

It is very difficult, too, to persuade the farmers and game-
keepers that this bird in no way interferes with their interests,
and that, as it preys almost entirely on rats, mice, and other
small quadrupeds, and on reptiles, it is so far from being an
injurious bird, that it is one which ought to be protected for
the good it does.

It is stated in the 4th edition of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds ’
(vol. i. p. 79) that the remains of frogs, coleopterous insects
and their larvae, and earthworms have been found in the
stomach of the Kestrel. Mr. Selby, in his ‘ Illustrations of
British Ornithology’ (ed. 1, vol. i. p. 44), mentions this
bird as sometimes feeding on cockchafers, both taking and

KESTREL._SPARROW-HA WE. 18

eating them while on the wing. Mr. Knox states (O. R.
p. 54) that ornithologists are aware that the slowworm
(Anguis fragilis) is constantly devoured by this Falcon,
and mentions that a specimen was shot in his neighbourhood
in the act of killing a large adder. He also quotes an ex-
tremely interesting account of the Kestrel from the late
Mr. Waterton’s ‘Essays on Natural History’ (lst series,
ard ed. p. 261). Though no kinds of bird appear to be its
usual food, that it does sometimes betake itself to them is
proved by its occasionally pouncing on the call-birds of the
birdcatchers. The Kestrel is generally known in Sussex as
the “Windhover Hawk,” or “ Windfanner.” It appears
never to hunt in concert, and its usual habit is to hover a
considerable time over its prey, and to take it by dropping
suddenly upon it from a height.

The chalk cliffs in the south of the county seem to be now
its principal stronghold, though it has occasionally bred in
some of the chalk-pits so numerous on the South Downs.
I well remember seeing a pair which appeared to have estab-
lished themselves on the spire of Chichester Cathedral.

SPARROW-HAWK.

Accipiter nisus.

Tuouer this species may be occasionally met with in all
parts of the county, it more especially haunts the wooded
and enclosed districts.

There is perhaps a greater disparity in the relative size of
the two sexes in this species than in any other of our birds
of prey. It is said to construct its own nest, but, like the
Kestrel, it is partial to the old ones of the Carrion-Crow or
Magpie; it also builds in plantations of fir, especially of

14 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

spruce, in thick ivy on old buildings, and occasionally in the
sea-cliffs and chalk-pits, of which latter, did I not deem it
unadvisable, I could point out several which have been
frequented by these birds for many years in succession.

It is one of the boldest of our Hawks, and flies at game as
large as Partridges; and I was told by a gamekeeper, not
long since, that he was surprised a few days before by seeing
one make a dash at an old cock Pheasant sitting on a rail.
All keepers look upon it as their most dangerous enemy.
Its favourite object of pursuit, however, appears to be the
Wood-Pigeon.

I had, in February 1844, a male Sparrow-Hawk which had
been caught in a barn, into which it had pursued a small
bird, while two men were there thrashing corn.

It has not unfrequently been known to strike at a caged
bird at a window, and I have twice heard of its dashing
through the glass with the same object. This Hawk, like
several others, is occasionally taken in the clap-net.

In my own district, which is not far from St. Leonard’s
forest, and is generally well-wooded, this bird may be, even
now, called more common than the Kestrel, though both are
far less abundant than they were in the olden time.

KITE.

Milvus ictinus.

I wave only once seen this bird at large in this county,
namely, at Eastbourne, on March 22nd, 1881. When walking
westward I saw a bird flying towards me in a very leisurely
manner, only just above the surf. I was standing.on the
sea-wall, and when it came opposite to me it rose to about
30 feet above the water, and passed me so closely that I could

KITE. 15

distinctly see its eyes and its yellow feet; it then flew off
across the bay as if for Hastings.

An old gamekeeper of my grandfather’s, who died in 1855,
at the age of 73, has often told me that in his younger days
the “ forky-tailed Kites’ were not uncommon in Sussex, and
that they gave a great deal of trouble by taking young ducks
and chickens from the farm-yards, but I never heard him say
anything of their nesting. I probably never asked him.
Montagu, in his ‘Ornithological Dictionary,’ states that a
Kite was knocked down with a broom and captured, at a
farm near Hastings, while it was attacking young ducks and
chickens about the house.

Mr. Knox mentions the Kite as occurring once near
Brighton, and again at Sidlesham, between 1839 and 1849
(O. R. 1st edition, p. 184). Mr. Booth writes that while
shooting in the neighbourhood of Brighton, in the autumn of
1878, he saw one of these birds passing westward at a con-
siderable elevation.

In Willughby’s ‘ Ornithology’ (Book ii. p. 74), printed in
1678, may be found the following trite remarks on the flight
of the Kite :—

“ Spreading its Wings it so ballances it self in the Air, that it
can rest as it were unmovable a long time in the same place ;
yea, without at all, or but rarely moving its Wings, it glides
through the Air from place to place; whence perchance it took
its English name Glead.... This sort of Birds (saith
Pliny) seems to have taught men the Art of steering a Ship
by the turning of their Tails: Nature shewing in the Air what
was needful to be done in the Deep. For hence (as Aldrovan-
dus goes on) it is probable that men learned to apply a
Rudder; viz., When they saw the Kite, by turning her Tail
sometimes this way, sometimes that way, to direct or vary her
course, and turn about her body at pleasure; they also
attempting somewhat like, added the Helm to the Ship, by

16 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

winding and turning whereof to and fro they could direct
and impel it whither they pleased, which otherwise would be
driven uncertainly and at random by the Winds and Tides.”

The nest is generally very bulky and rather flat, and is fre-
quently lined with various kinds of rubbish, such as rags, pieces
of newspapers, old stockings, as well as green leaves, hair and
wool; and a high tree is usually chosen for its site. It feeds
on garbage of every description as well as on any small or
wounded animals, and does not object to fish.

Mr. Ellman had in his possession a Kite which was killed
some years ago on Mr. Streatfield’s property at Uckfield.

In January 1889 one was shot at Shipley, which was pre-
served by Myr, Pratt, of Queen’s Road, Brighton.

COMMON BUZZARD.
Buteo vulgaris.

On referring to my own notes I find the following :—On
January 28th, 1841, one, which had been observed about the
harbour for some days, was shot on the cliff at Newhaven ; it
had a great deal of white about the head. This was in very
severe weather.

December 16th, 1843, another was shot at Stanmer Park,
which seemed not to have been very particular about its diet,
there being in its interior several earthworms and a shrew, as
also the remains of a Redwing. It was an adult female.

In January 1849 an adult male was shot in Stanmer Park.

On November 16th, 1850, I saw a male and female, which
had been lately obtained near Horsham; the former was
much decayed, the other was fresh and was preserved. This
last was shot in the act of carrying off a young chicken,

An adult male was shot at Cowfold, November 14th, 1860.

COMMON BUZZARD, 17

While partridge-shooting at West Grinstead, in September
1877, I saw a Buzzard circling about at a great height for
several hours, but never saw it alight. Thus far my own
notes.

When this species was not uncommon in Sussex, it was, if
distinguished at all, called the “Puttock,” but the larger
hawks indiscriminately went by the name of Kites. Under
this last title I used frequently to see the Common Buzzard
in my younger days.

Respecting the food of this bird Willughby (Ornithology,
Book ii. p. 71) has the following :—

“Tt feeds not only upon Mice and Moles, but also upon
Birds: For out of the stomach of one that we opened we
took a small Bird entire, and out of the stomach of another
even a Thrush. It is a great destroyer of Conies: Yet for
want of better food it will feed upon Beetles, Earth-worms,
and other Insects.”

The late Mr. Knox considered it one of our most un-
common birds.

My. Ellman mentions in the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 83029) that he
obtained a very fine old female from Laughton, in November
1850, and (p. 3357) two trapped near Brede in January
1852, observing that he did not know of more than twenty
specimens having been obtained in the county in the last
twenty years. Mr. Wilson says (p. 6604), under date of
November 1855, that in the last four years six specimens had
been obtained in the vicinity of Worthing (p. 8441). On
the 23rd of December, 1862, a fine old female, the plumage
a dark chocolate colour, was trapped in the grounds of
Battle Abbey ; and in the same journal (p. 491) is found the
following from Mr. T. Parkin, of Halton, Hastings :—“ On
September 27, 1881, a Common Buzzard was brought for
preservation to Mr. Bristow, of St. Leonards-on-Sea. It had

been shot the day before at the Grove, Hollington, not more
c

‘18 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

‘than half a mile from the town. Mr. W. B. Young, on
whose ‘property it was shot, informed me that another was
seen the same day, and, a week or so afterwards, three more.”

Professor Newton, calling my attention to Markwick’s
observation (Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. iv. p. 18), remarks that
the birds which pursued the Rooks in Denne Park could
hardly have been Moor Buzzards, which do not frequent
high trees. They were much more likely to have been
Falcons.

ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD.
Buteo lagopus.

A Birp of this species was taken in a trap in Ashburnham
Park, January 1837, and preserved for Mr. Watts of Battle.
About the end of October 1839, one was shot near Chichester,
and sent to me by the late Mr. F. BK. Freeland, of that city.
In November 1839 two specimens were shot, and two others
taken in traps, near Clayton. Two of these I afterwards
saw stuffed. On September 16, 1841, a Rough-legged
Buzzard was shot by me at Henfield, while in the act of
carrying off a partridge, but it ‘was stopped by the second
barrel.

In O. R. (p. 185) it is stated that this species is not so
rare as the preceding, that a sprinkling of these birds is
always found in very hard weather, either near the inlets of
the sea south of Chichester, the marshy tracts of meadow
land near the mouths of the navigable rivers, on Amberley
flats, or on Lewes levels, and that an example was trapped at
Bosham in January 1839, which was disturbed in the act of
devouring a rabbit which it had. just killed. A fragment of
its prey being used as a bait, the poacher was secured on the
following morning. That author also says that he, during

ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD.—HONEY BUZZARD. 19

that severe weather, examined four specimens, all of which
were secured in the western part of the county, and that
others had been shot about the same time near Shoreham
and Pevensey, and that it had also occurred at Falmer. In
the ‘ Zoologist,’ a female is mentioned (p. 6604) obtained
in October 1858, and a male, in March 1859, both near
Worthing. It is also stated (p. 8492) that a fine female
was trapped near St. Leonards-on-Sea; and, in the volume for
1879, one is recorded (p. 109) as having been shot at Witter-
ing in November 1876. It is somewhat remarkable that the
adult bird has been so seldom obtained in Britain. Stevenson,
in his ‘Birds of Norfolk’ (vol. i. p. 30), the county in which
probably more examples have been taken than in any other,
states that he only knew of four which were in mature dress,
and to that number Professor Newton, in ‘ Yarrell’s British
Birds’ (vol. p. 118), was only able to add one more; so that it
is not too much to say that until Wolley sent the adult bird
from Lapland, no British ornithologist knew what its plumage
was. Since writing the above, I hear from Mr. Jeffery that
a Rough-legged Buzzard was shot at Up Park, in the parish
of Harting, in August or September 1863.

HONEY BUZZARD.

Pernis apivorus.

Tuis bird is a regular summer visitant, receiving additions
in the autumn, and as it sometimes remains very late, it has
been suggested that it would probably remain with us during
the winter if undisturbed; but as throughout Europe it is
as regular a summer visitant as the Swallow, and its food
consists for the most part of insects (wasp-grubs especially),
I think it could not exist with us when they could not be
c2

20 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

had. It does not, however, confine itself entirely to insect
food, as the remains of earthworms and slugs, as well as of
moles, rats, mice, and frogs, have been found in its stomach,
Willughby says that it runs very swiftly, “like a hen.” It
is perfectly harmless, and it is a great pity that it is not
protected, and allowed to breed with us, as we have the
authority of Gilbert White that it did at Selborne, and of
others that it has bred in the New Forest. According to
Montagu, it breeds in high trees, forming its nest of sticks
of considerable size, intermixed with small twigs with the
leaves on, and the lining is composed of green leaves and
wool. It generally lays two eggs. I have in my collection
three specimens killed in Sussex :—one, in the summer of
1837; in Ashburnham Park, and in that of 1841, an old
female, shot at Newtimber; also a young male, shot in Shave
Wood in Albourne, in the act of scratching out a wasp’s
nest. This bird is in remarkable plumage, greatly resem-
bling that of the Osprey in its second year. Mr. Dennis,
writing to me in August 1858, told me that he had seen a
Honey Buzzard which was shot in the month of June of
that year, by one of Lord Gage’s keepers, in the Plashet, a
wood in Firle Park; its stomach contained caterpillars and
the remains of mice.

Mr. Knox refers to specimens obtained in the neighbour-
hood of Arundel, and in St. Leonards Forest, and between
Ashdown Forest and the borders of Kent. -He considered
this bird decidedly less rare than the Common Buzzard.

Mr. Ellman mentions (Zoologist, p. 2411) an immature
bird shot at Udimore, in the latter part of 1844, and (p. 8325)
two others are recorded as seen together near Eastbourne :
one was shot, in an apple tree, at Birling Gap Farm, and the
other near Seaford, a few days afterwards, in September
1863. At p. 8875 we read of a bird, which could have been
no other than a Honey Buzzard, shot on Halnaker Common,

4
3

J.G.Keulemans del. et Lith.

THE HONEY BUZZARD.
Perms apivorus.

Mintern Bros

Chrome

1
h

a

th.

HONEY BUZZARD.—MARSH-HARRIER, 21

near Goodwood, in November 1864, while enjoying the con-
tents of a wasp’s nest; and at p. 491, vol. for 1881, of a dark-
plumaged female, caught at Robertsbridge, and of another
taken a few days before at Balcombe. This last was a male
which had been feeding on wild bees and their larve, its
throat being full of them. Another was obtained near East
Grinstead ; when first seen it was apparently digging for a
wasp’s nest, October 1881. This species varies more in its
plumage than any other of our Falconide, sometimes being
of a uniform dark chocolate, approaching to black. There
is also a variety with a pale bluish-grey head, and the breast
much spotted, which has been called the “‘ Capped Buzzard.”’
Tn this plumage it is very much like a large Cuckoo.

Mr. Potter, formerly a bird-stuffer residing at Lewes, in-
forms me that he once took from the stomach of one of
these birds a mass of hairy caterpillars of the Egger and
Drinker moths, which would have filled a half-pint mug.

MARSH-HARRIER.

Circus eruginosus.

Or this species I have never myself met with a single speci-
men in Sussex, and it does not appear in my notes. Mr.
Knox considered it exceedingly rare. It appears to frequent
only wide expanses of open marshy country, and never to be
found in those that are wooded or hilly. Mr. Ellman re-
cords (Zoologist, p. 3112) that on the 20th of February an
immature specimen was shot at Haughton, and came into his
possession. Mr, Wilson (Zoologist, p. 3605), on the occur-
rence of rare birds near Worthing, merely states “ Marsh-
Harrier, June 14th, 1854.” Mr. Dutton, of Eastbourne
(p. 6266), states that Mr. Vidler, of that town, shot a speci-

22 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

men of this bird, in very fine plumage, on the 2nd of
October, 1858. The crop was very much distended with the
remains of a bird, apparently a Moorhen. Mr. Vidler told
him that he had often seen the Marsh- Harrier in the marshes,
but had never before shot one. In the same journal, 1879
(p. 19), Mr. Jeffery records his having seen a Marsh-Harrier
which had been shot at Sidlesham, a few days before, and
had been purchased by Mr. Fuller, of Chichester*.

The Marsh-Harrier feeds on any waterfowl] or other birds
he can manage to capture, as well as on such small quadru-
peds as he may meet with, and is also very partial to fish.

HEN-HARRIER.
Circus cyaneus. .

I saw at Henfield a female which had been shot at Wynd-
ham, by Michael Harmes of that place, December 28th,
1850. On the 10th of March, 1854, I examined two speci-
mens which had been shot near Hailsham. They had
neither of them attained the most perfect mature male
plumage, one of them having a considerable patch of mottled
brown feathers on the back of the neck, and the breast in
front delicately spotted with rusty red, the rest being pure
white. A slight tinge of reddish brown also remained on
the points of the scapulars. The other had a very slight
portion of the mottled brown remaining on the nape of
the neck, the blue-grey of the upper and the pure white
of the under parts being particularly clear and beautiful.

* Mr. Jeffery, in his private note-book, which he has kindly lent
me, states that a female was killed at Sidlesham on the 23rd of May,
1861, and is in his collection.

HEN-HARRIER, 23

In January 1856 I saw a male Hen-Harrier cross the
road close before me, as I was driving between Cowfold and
Henfield. This was apparently a fully mature bird.

The Hen-Harrier was formerly a regular summer visitor,
a few occasionally remaining through the winter, and that it
then bred in this county there can be no doubt; but I can
find no certain evidence of its having done so of late years.

The female and the young male, up to its second year, are
similar in plumage, but so unlike the adult male that many
formerly supposed them to be a distinct species. Montagu,
however, set the matter at rest, and proved that the bird
generally known as the Ringtail is no other than the female
or young male of the Hen- Harrier.

Speaking of the boldness ‘and rapacity of birds of prey
when pressed by hunger, Markwick, writing to Gilbert
White, in his edition of the ‘ Works in Natural History’ of
that observant Ornithologist, vol. ii. (pp. 182-183), says as
follows:—“ When partridge-shooting with a friend, we saw
a ring-tail hawk rise out of a pit, with some large bird in its
claws; though at a great distance we both fired and obliged
it to drop its prey, which proved to be one of the partridges
which we were in pursuit of; and lastly, in an evening, I
shot at and plainly saw that I had wounded a partridge, but
it being late I was obliged to go home without finding it
again. Next morning I walked round my land without any
gun, but a favourite old spaniel followed my heels. When
I came near the field where I wounded the bird the evening
before, I heard the partridges call, and seeming to be much
disturbed. On my approaching the bar-way, they all rose,
some on my right and some on my left hand; and just before
and over my head, I perceived (though indistinctly from the
extreme velocity of their motion) two birds fly directly
against each other, when instantly, to my great astonish-
ment, down dropped a partridge at my feet: the dog im-

24 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

mediately seized it, and on examination I found the blood
flow very fast from a fresh wound in the head, but there was
some dry clotted blood on its wings and side; whence I con-
cluded that a hawk hed singled out my wounded bird as the
object of his prey, and had struck it down the instant that
my approach had obliged the birds to rise on the wing; but
the space between the hedges was so small; and the motion
of the birds so instantaneous and quick, that I could not
distinctly observe the operation.”

Mr. Knox (0. R. p. 90) states that a female was taken in
a trap baited with a rabbit’s scut, at Offham, in March
1842; that in September 1844, a male was shot near
Arundel, another in the same year at West Wittering
in December, a male and female at Wivelsfield, in June
1847, and that their nest was probably in the immediate
vicinity, as they were both mature, and had been seen together
for some time previously. He considered this bird to he
much rarer than Montagu’s Harrier.

Mr. Dennis, in a letter to me, dated January 25, 1851,
says that he had sent a female Hen-Harrier to Mr. Swaysland,
of Brighton, to be preserved, which had been taken near
Seaford shortly before.

In the ‘ Zoologist ’ eccur the following notices :—-

S.S. p. 141, by Mr. Jeffery, jun., of one having been shot
on the 14th of December, 1865, in a marsh adjoining Pag-
ham Harbour, which contained the remains of several birds,
and of' which the plumage was of a general rusty brown
colour. He also mentions, in p. 2059, a young male shot at
Sidlesham, in December 1867.

In page 3112, Mr. Ellman writes: —“ An adult female
specimen of the Hen-Harrier was captured alive on the
Downs, near Alciston, in a singular manner last month...
A boy was walking over the Downs, when a terrier he had
with him saw the bird at a distance and ran after it. After

HEN-HARRIER.--MONTAGU’S HARRIER. 25

running in circles round the bird the latter fell on the
ground upon its back, and was immediately seized by the
boy.”

Mr. Wilson records a male in 1853, and a femalein 1854,
both obtained near Worthing, in the autumn, p. 6605; and
Mr. Kent, in p. 8442, that one, in the Ringtail plumage,
was trapped in ‘Ashburnham Park on January the 17th,
1863. (See also p. 2343, 8.8.)

My. Jeffery, in his private note-book, mentions that one
of these birds was seen at Ratham, and another at Funting-
ton in December 1872; and that in November 1880 he saw,
in the flesh, a male and female which had been shot near
Sidlesham, both adult.

MONTAGU’S HARRIER.
Circus cineraceus.

In September 1863 a very handsome specimen of this bird
was given to me by Mr. H. Padwick, of Horsham, who shot
it near Itchingfield. Being a very long shot, it was only
tipped on the wing, and very little injured. The plumage
being of a general chocolate colour on the upper parts, and
creamy yellow beneath, I believe it to be a bird of the first
year. Its claws were full of the flick of a rabbit.

It is worthy of remark that Markwick, writing of the blue-
grey Hawks, of which he says (Linn. Trans. vol. iv. pp. 12-18)
he had some years before shot two, evidently had before
him both species, without knowing it, or rather that he at
first concluded the male Hen-Harrier and the male Mon-
tagu’s to be the two sexes of the same species. His bird
with the reddish oblong spots must have been a cock Mon-
tagu’s Harrier ; while the other, having no spots on the breast,

26. THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

was a Hen-Harrier, for which he could hardly be blamed,
his paper having been read seven years before the matter
was cleared up by Montagu.

Mr. Knox says that this Harrier is more generally diffused
in Sussex than the Hen-Harrier, and this is still the case.

In the ‘ Zoologist’ (pp. 2260-2261) we find the following
entry by Mr. Bates, of Eastbourne :—“ TI had brought to me
last Monday, the 20th of June, a most peculiar marked
specimen of Montagu’s Harrier. It was a male bird, and
of a uniform black-blue colour. On dissection I found in
its crop six young skylarks, and in its stomach three more,
and five skylarks’ eggs. Three were broken in two, and one
had a small hole in it, evidently made by the Harrier’s beak ...
The eggs were in the stomach, not in the crop.”

In p. 2953, Mr. Ellman notes that a female was shot near
Arundel, while in company with a male, in October, 1850;
and at p. 3329 that an immature specimen was taken near
Eastbourne, in the autumn. Mr. Dutton also states that a
female was trapped on the 15th of April, 1864, in Pevensey
Level, which had killed three young hares, and was caught
in a trap baited with one of them. In p. 2060 is a notice
by Mr. Jeffery of a Montagu’s Harrier which he saw at
Chichester in August 1869, it having been killed shortly
before near Selsey. In November 1867, the late Mr.
Rowley had one which had been taken in a clap-net on the
Downs. This was a female; a male also got into the net, but
escaped; and in August 1870 the same bird-catcher captured
another female at the same place where he took the first,
also in a net, just outside of Brighton.

Mr. Jeffery, in a letter to me, dated October the 3rd, 1889,
informs me that he obtained one from Sidlesham, May 27,
1862. I was told that a boy one day in the summer of 1888
brought an old female Montagu’s Harrier and some broken
egg-shells to the late Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton, and said that

MONTAGU’S HARRIER.—TAWNY OWL. 27

he saw it on its nest among the furzes on the Downs above
Falmer, and that he threw himself upon it with such force
that he killed the bird and broke the eggs. I did not hear
how many, there were. I may here remark that it is a
common habit of poachers, at least in Sussex, to catch hares
and rabbits by throwing themselves upon them in their seats
or forms.

Mr. Booth remarks that about. twenty-five years ago he
procured eggs, which must have belonged to this species,
from an extensive stretch of furze, known in the district as
“The Horthy Field.” This was near Catsfield, in the east
of Sussex. In this parish was Catsfield House, the residence
of the celebrated Markwick.

STRIGIDZA.
TAWNY OWL.

Strix aluco.

In Sussex this species, which is generally known by the
name of the Wood-Owl, though not so abundant as formerly,
is still to be found in the large oak woods, and in most of
the parks where there are old trees of any size. I can of
my own knowledge mention the following in the west :—
Cowdray, Petworth, Burton, Knepp, West Grinstead, and
Up Park; and in the east Stanmer, Fletching, Firle, and
Ashburnham. Being lately at a birdstuffer’s shop in
Horsham, I saw no fewer than seven specimens of all ages,
and was told that the bird is by no means scarce in that
neighbourhood, which abounds with old elms, full of hollows
in their trunks and branches, where they find most suitable

28 : THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

places for their concealment throughout the year and for

bringing up their young at the proper season. Though not.
so common as the Barn-Owl, it may be met with on the

whole range of St. Leonards Forest, principally frequenting

the ancient beech trees.

In March 1864 a pair of these birds were constantly heard
in the evening about the trees in my own grounds at Cow-
fold; and as I had never heard them before, I suppose they
must have been attracted by one which a neighbour had in
confinement near his house adjoining my premises. They
were very vociferous, and were called and answered by
the tame bird, which had been taken in St. Leonards
Forest. The note of the Owl in the cage was very different
from that of its visitors, and its proprietor told me that he
had never heard it utter the same note but on these occasions.
This bird was quite an object of interest in the village, and
the owner informed me that it was as good as a watchdog to
him, as it made a great disturbance if any one was about
the premises at night, and that he, being a medical man, had
often been thus apprised of some patient requiring his
services. The utilization of the Owl might therefore be
advantageous to those who object to paying their dog tax;
it might also be useful as a warning of a meditated attack
by burglars, as was the goose to the defenders of the old
Roman capitol. The Tawny Owl is said occasionally to
catch and eat fish, and to supply them to its young, but its
principal food is rats and mice, and although it no doubt
also helps itself pretty liberally to young rabbits and leverets,
the good it does far outweighs its depredations among the
game. I once found in the hole of a beech tree, in which
were three young Owls, two brown rats and three water-
rats, and a very small rabbit. Mr. Jeffery states, in his
private notes, that this bird has bred every year in a hollow
tree near the Downs from 1859 to 1887.

LONG-EARED OWL. 29

LONG-EARED OWL.
Asio otus.

I can say little from my own observation respecting this
species, It is dispersed, in moderate numbers, throughout
this county, especially in places where there are old Scotch
firs, or thick plantations of younger trees of either these
or spruce.

I remember once seeing three young birds, nearly ready
to fly, sitting in a line, on the flat branch of a spruce, in a
small wood at Blackstone, near Henfield. As these could
never have flown from one tree to another, I have little doubt
that there was a nest in the same tree, but it was surrounded
by an impenetrable mass of brambles and blackthorn, and
too thick to see through.

Mr. Gould, in his ‘ Birds of Great Britain,’ after speaking
of the number of pellets ejected by this Owl, which he had
examined, makes this remark :—“‘ But I am bound to men-
tion that never in a single instanee have I discovered a trace
of any game bird, and I feel assured that the keepers, who
wage war against the Long-eared Owl for the protection of
their young pheasants or partridges, are not only giving
themselves unnecessary trouble, but are also guilty of the
folly of exterminating their best friends, for the number of
rats destroyed by this species is enormous, and I look upon
the rat as the game-preserver’s worst enemy.”

I have seen specimens from Parham Park, and I was told
by a gamekeeper that they had bred there for several years
in succession, in the tops of the lofty old Scotch firs. I have
seen other examples from various parts of the county, and
have in my own collection one shot at Henfield, in July

30 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

1842; and another from Stanmer Park, obtained in the
same year.

Mr. Jeffery, in his private notes, mentions that on the 4th
of March, 1860, he saw ten or twelve of these birds in a
yew tree at Kingley Vale, and records in the ‘ Zoologist,’ for
1881 (p. 49), that on the 10th of December, 1880, a great
many had been brought to a birdstuffer at Chichester.
In Mr. Gordon’s ‘ History of Harting’ it is mentioned
that the eggs of this species were found in the deserted nest
of a crow on West Harting Down (vide p. 253).

SHORT-EARED OWL.
Asio accipitrinus.

I wave in my collection three specimens, all shdt by myself,
viz.,one on Henfield Common, October 18th, 1889; another
at Hough Wood in September 1841; and a third at Rye
Farm, Henfield, while flying close to the ground. Together
with this bird I also shot a hare in its form (or seat, as it is
more usually called by Sussex farmers and sportsmen), just
beyond it: this was in October 1841. I have often met with
this bird in the turnip fields and in the stubbles, which were
formerly left in Sussex, sometimes even to rot on the
ground, but which now, unfortunately for the partridge-
shooters, may be called non-existent, all corn being cut close
to the ground from the first. I once, but only once in this
county, put up about forty, from a turnip field, though I have
several ‘times in Cambridgeshire seen similar numbers to-
gether, probably whole flights on their immigration.

In 1841, I saw a Short-eared Owl, shot near Henfield on
the 16th of September, by Mr. A. Smith, which contained
the remains of two Skylarks and a short-tailed field vole,

SHORT-EARED OWL.—EAGLE-OWL. 31

all three of which it had no doubt captured on’ the ground.
I think this species is entirely terrestrial, as I have never
seen, or heard of, its settling in trees. It nests also on the
ground, but I have never known it to breed in Sussex. I
have once only found a nest of this species myself, aud as
it was not in Sussex, I should not have alluded to it had it
not been for the marvellous ferocity of its owner. Were it
sitting hard I could have excused it, but, as it had only one
egg, I considered its assault upon me perfectly unjustifiable.
The nest was in a rabbit-burrow, and I saw the bird fly out.
I was kneeling down, when it deliberately knocked my cap
off; I took the one egg, which is still in my collection; the
bird made repeated attacks on me, and though I could easily
have killed it with my stick, not wishing to do so, I was by
no means sorry when I found myself out of its way. This
was in Quy Fen, near Cambridge, in 1838 or thereabouts.

In this county the Short-eared Owl is a regular autumnal
immigrant, never being found in the summer ; its appearance
about the same time as the Woodcock (seldom before the
first of October) has given to this bird the name of the
“ Woodcock Owl.”

EAGLE-OWL.
Bubo ignavus.

Tue earliest notice of the occurrence of this bird in Sussex
appears to be that of Latham, who, writing in 1787, observes
(Gen. Syn. of Birds, Supplement, p. 40) that this Owl is
“now and then seen with us, one being shot by the game-
keeper of the Rev. Mr. Hare, at Hurstmonceux, in the year
1784 ;7? and from him Montagu, so far as Sussex is con-
cerned, probably got his information when he says in his

382 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

‘Omithological Dictionary’ :—“It has been shot in York-
shire, and in Sussex, as well as in Scotland.”

The muscles of the thigh are stronger in this species, in
proportion to its size, than those of the same part of any
other bird I have ever examined. I can find no further
record of the appearance of the Eagle-Owl in Sussex ; and it
is not mentioned by Markwick*.

SCOPS-OWL.
Scops giu.

Tue only notice I can find of this little Owl having been
obtained in Sussex is that given by Mr. Knox, who says (O. R.
p. 9495) :—* Of the occurrence of that rare visitor the Scops-
eared Owl, I can record only one instance in Sussex. It was
shot some years ago at Shillinglee, the seat of the Earl of
Winterton, and was subsequently in the possession of -a
member of the family.”

Now, Mr. Knox’s own collection is at the present time at
Goodwood, and in it there is a specimen of the Scops-Owl;
and in the MS. Catalogue it is thus referred to, in the hand-
writing of Mr. Knox :—“ This bird is supposed to have been
shot near Plaistow, as reported by the late Mr. Kidd (A. D.
1838), but I have no other authority for its being a Sussex
specimen.” For this information I am indebted to Mr. F.
D. Godman, who very kindly obtained it for me through
Lord Walter Gordon Lennox. Now, as Plaistow is very near
to Shillinglee, there is a strong probability that this is the
‘specimen to which Mr. Knox refers in his O. R.

* For the Owls in Arundel Castle, see Introduction.

LITTLE OWL. 33

LITTLE OWL.

Carine noctua.

I HAvE an immature specimen in my possession, which I first
saw in the flesh at a poulterer’s in Brighton Market, in July
1843. He told me that it was shot by a boy at Sheffield Park,
Fletching. I went over there and saw the said boy, who told
me that he was lying down in an orchard, having been em-
ployed to keep birds off the corn, when he saw the Owl in an
apple-tree. He had a gun and powder, but no shot. He
said the bird kept making faces at him, and he couldn’t
stand that, and so, having some tin tacks in his pocket, he
loaded his gun with them, and shot it. He gave it to his
father, who, instead of taking it to his missus to make a
pudding, as a Sussex man would be very likely to do, sent it
by carrier to Brighton Market.

-I have another example which was taken on the evening
of March 27th, 1871, by a man who saw it fly into a rabbit’s
burrow in Holmbush Park, near Horsham. He dug the bird
out and sold it to a birdstuffer in the town, who killed and
mounted it. The sex was unfortunately not ascertained.
I recorded this capture in the ‘ Zoologist’” (p. 5988), and
that notice is also mentioned in Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’
(ed. 4, p. 155), but unfortunately I recorded it as Tengmalm’s
Owl, an error which I much regret, and take this opportunity
of correcting. Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, showed me on March
16th, 1877, a Little Owl, which is recorded in the ‘ Zoolo-
gist ’ (p. 228) as obtained at Shoreham, shot in an orchard
close to the town. This came into my possession, and also
another, caught alive in an outbuilding near Newtimber, in
April of the same year.

I was told by Sir Walter Burrell, Bart., that, finding them

D

34 THE BIRDS OF. SUSSEX.

troublesome to feed, he had turned out two of these birds a
few months previously at- Knepp Castle, and as Knepp is
only about ten miles from either of the above places, I have
a strong suspicion that. these were the birds which he had
liberated.

BARN OWL.

Aluco flammeus.

Tuts is the commonest species, and well known by. the name
of Screech-Owl. Formerly it was particularly abundant,
and bred in the old stone-roofed houses, churches, and barns
in this neighbourhood ; but, though it is the best friend of
the farmer, and does little, if any, harm to game, it is much
persecuted, and like the Long- and Short-gared Owls, is
sought for for making fire-screens.

It is also destroyed ov account of its disturbing the rest
of the lodgers who are now occupying our farm-houses in the
summer months, and one of the consequences of this destruc-
tion is that the vermin ot all sorts is increasing in every
direction.

Mr. Waterton, and other authors, have stated that this
bird feeds on fish, and I was once watching one of them
perched on a branch of an oak, overhanging a pond on my
own premises, when it suddenly dropped from a height of
some eight feet, and carried off a carp in its claws.

The late Mr. Dawson Rowley, Orn. Misc. vol. i. pp. 62-3,
has the following :—

“The beautiful variety in my collection, which has been
well drawn by Mr. Keulemans, was captured alive in a pigeon-
house near Brighton ; there were two, but the other escaped.
- . . Mr. Henry Stevenson, in his ‘ Birds of Norfolk,’ vol. i.

BARN OWL. 85

p. 58, gives an instance of a similar specimen killed near
Norwich, December 13th, 1864. .... He adds it is rather
rare in all parts of Denmark. . . These Danish birds, as they
are called, have, I suspect; come across from the continent,
. . . Mr. Hancock states, in his ‘ Birds of Northumberland ’
(p. 21), that an example was shot in his district a few years
ago.” Subsequently (p. 270), in a paper by Mr. R. Bowdler
Sharpe, there may be found :—“ There are therefore three
occurrences of the Danish Barn-Owl in England, all of them
having taken place on the eastern and south-eastern coasts.
. . . But announcements of Danish Barn-Owls in England
must be received with extreme caution, as our own species
has a natural dark phase, which scarcely differs from the
ordinary bird of the continent of Europe, and I believe that
a thorough examination of the Barn-Owls of all countries
would show that in every district [here he excepts a few
localities afterwards mentioned] both phases are found in
equal proportions. I must observe at least, that several
examples, killed in England recently, and brought to me as
Danish Barn-Owls, have not been so really, but have turned
out to be the dark phase of our resident bird.”

There is the following footnote (p. 270) :—“ Another,
probably a male, was taken alive, in the same dovecote Feb.
2nd, 1876.—G. D. R.”

D2

36 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

PASSERES.

LANIIDE.

GREAT GREY SHRIKE.
Lanius excubitor.

Tuis bird is generally a winter visitant, though it occa-
sionally occurs in spring. It feeds on mice and small birds,
large insects, especially humble-bees, frogs, and lizards. It
has a curious habit of impaling its food on a sharp thorn in
order to tear it to pieces more readily, and it has been sug-
gested that, owing to the weakness of its legs, it cannot other-
wise hold the prey with sufficient tenacity ; these collections
of hung-up food have no doubt originated the name of
“ Butcher-Bird,”

The nest has never been found in Sussex, and the bird is
by no means common, but it appears every year in many
parts of the county.

In December 1889, a little before Christmas, two were shot
near Bramber Castle, one ten days after the other. This
latter, being wounded, bit the hand of the man who shot it
very severely. Both are in my possession ; there appears to
be no difference in the plumage of the two, each having the
semilunar markings on the breast.

I have a note of one shot near Lancing on November
18th, 1845 ; and there is another in my collection, killed at
Aldrington in October 1846,

GREAT GREY SHRIKE, 37

Several of these birds were seen about a hedge at South-
wick; and one of them was shot on the first day of its ap-
pearance, and another the next. I saw them both soon
afterwards, about October 1846.

I also knew of one taken in a clap-net, in a brickfield near
Horsham, having pounced on a Goldfinch, which was used
as a call-bird, in January 1850. It was an old male, in
beautiful plumage ; and in February 1852, two were shot
near Pevensey by Mr. Vidler.

In December of the next year I had the pleasure of seeing
one myself in this neighbourhood, and of watching it for
some minutes as it sat on the top of an oak tree, moving its
tail up and down with great rapidity. It was pointed out to
me by a labourer, who had seen it on a lawn about half a
mile from Cowfold. It very soon darted into a thicket and
disappeared. At this time there wasa severe frost. On the
15th of February, 1853, another was shot at Shipley.

Some years after this, in March 1881, happening to be at
Eastbourne, I saw one of these Shrikes come in from the
sea, and remarked its very undulating flight, like that of a
Woodpecker. In Mr. Jeffery’s private notes, he records one
killed at Jevington on 19th November, 1861.

The ‘ Zoologist’ records:—One taken near Lewes in a
clap-net while attacking a call-bird, February 3rd, 1849
(p. 2452) ; another at Worthing, in 1859 (p. 6606) ; a third
at Pevensey, in 1866 (p. 9655) ; and a fourth at Sidlesham,
in 1868 (p. 2059, s.s.), as well as a female shot near Brighton,
mentioned in the vol. for 1880 (p. 147).

38 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

RED-BACKED SHRIKE.
Lanius collurio.

-Untrke the preceding, this bird makes its appearance with
great regularity about the middle of April, and is, in fact, a
summer immigrant. Although decidedly local, it cannot be
called uncommon.

It may be seen occasionally between the South Downs and

the sea, but the north side of that range, throughout its
whole length, may, I think, be considered its favourite haunt.
Nevertheless it is fairly distributed throughout the inland
parts of the county, especially in the more open districts of.
the Weald.

The habit of these birds of stationing themselves on the
extreme point of the highest portion of a tree or bush renders
them very conspicuous. Any person travelling along the
roads may, year after year, at some particular spot, or within
a few yards of it, observe a single male or female perched in
this position, probably on the lookout for any passing insect,
or on duty as sentinel.

"Its habits and food are very similar to those of the Great
Grey Shrike. In my younger days, when high hedges were
far more common than they are now, I have often found
in them the nest of the Red-backed Shrike. Owing to
modern ideas of agriculture, birds in general are losing such
places of security, and many are driven to build their nests
in situations liable to discovery, and to their consequent
destruction.

I may observe in conclusion, that the eggs of this bird in
one nest, often differ so remarkably from those in another,
that they might easily be supposed to represent the product

WOODCHAT SHRIKE—SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. 39

of at least three different species, though those in the same
nest are always similar. Several gamekeepers have told me
that they have shot this bird in the act of drawing out young
partridges and young pheasants from the coops,.

WOODCHAT SHRIKE.
Lanius auriculatus.

Tuis species is exceedingly rare in Sussex, and indeed: in
Britain.

T have met with only one specimen myself, of which I
find the following note :— On the 11th of May, 1866, I saw,
at Mr. Pratt’s shop in Brighton, a beautiful specimen of
Lanius auriculatus in the flesh, which he told me had been
shot at Preston, near that town, on that same morning, by
one of his sons. It was in the fullest plumage of the adult
male. The stomach contained portions of beetles and other
insects. This is no doubt the specimen which is mentioned
in Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ (vol. i. p. 216), as also in the
‘Zoologist’ (p. 266, s. s.). This species is not included by
Mr. Knox in his list.”

MUSCICAPIDE.

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER.
Muscicapa grisola.

Tus bird generally arrives in the county about the 4th of
May, and very commonly returns year after year to an

40 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

accustomed spot, building a nest, or repairing an old one, on
the branch of a vine, or some other fruit-tree, trained against
a wall, generally taking great pains to conceal it from a
passer-by, though it is very often a pretty large mass. At
other times it will place its nest against the upright stem of
an oak, or other rough-barked or lichen-covered tree, and in
that case it is usually very small, and so neatly woven into
its surroundings that it is very difficult to-discover. It is,
as a rule, composed of moss and lichen externally, perhaps
mixed with a few roots and feathers, and is lined with horse-
hair and other soft material.

In one instance, a nest was found on the moulded architrave
of a window of my own house, entirely composed, externally,
of the blossoms of the Turkey oak, and lined with a few
horsehairs, feathers, and red worsted. I have twice found
the eggs of this species plain light blue, without any markings
at all. Itis fond of sitting on a rail, or * the point of a
branch, whence it pursues its insect prey, returning con-
stantly to the same spot.

I have known it to seléct the top of a beehive, and to make
a raid every few minutes on the bees, as they were returning
with their honey. It leaves this country for the winter about
the middle of September.

It does not appear to possess any song, and is the most
silent of all our small birds.

’

Mr. Jeffery, in his private notes, states that this species
uses spiders’ webs freely for its nest, collecting them from:
the corners and crevices of buildings while hovering on the
wing.

PIED FLYCATCHER. 44

PIED FLYCATCHER.
Muscicapa atricapilta.

A Rare visitor to the southern counties. Two specimens
were obtained at Lancing, on May 17th, 1873, and about the
same time another, a male, was picked up dead at Sunt, near
Lindfield. I examined all of these.

On April 10th, 1853, my notice was attracted by the ex-
treme whiteness of the breast of a bird high up in an oak
tree, in my own grounds at Cowfold, and not knowing what
it was, I shot it. It proved to be an adult male of this
species, and is now in my own collection. Mr. Knox men-
tions one killed in 1837 at Halnaker, and another at Mouls-
combe, near Brighton. Mr. A. F. Griffith, of that town,
informs me that he saw a Pied Flycatcher near the Hassocks
Station of L.B.S.C. railway in May 1888.

The following notices of the Pied Flycatcher in Sussex
appear in the ‘ Zoologist ’ :—(p. 3174) a male shot at Firle
Place, in May 1851; (p. 6605) eight occurrences near
Worthing, between the spring of 1853 and that of 1858;
(p. 497, s.s.) a female shot at Uckfield in 1866; and
(p. 4691, s.s.) one is mentioned which flew into an open
window of the Grand Hotel, Brighton, in October 1875, and
was preserved by Mr. Swaysland.

In addition to these, Mr. Jeffery records two seen in the
neighbourhood of Chichester, in May 1881 (p. 49, vol. for
that year).

Its note is a low warble commencing 2ic, zic, zic.

42 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

ORIOLIDZ.

GOLDEN ORIOLE.

Oriolus galbula.

Tus species can only be considered a very irregular visitant.
The greater number have occurred in spring.

In my own collection I have two males which were shot
at Charleston, near Alfriston, in May 1838 ; and in the same
month of 1853 I saw a male which had been shot at Erring-
ham, near Shoreham. A few days afterwards another was
seen in the grounds of Lady Lloyd, at Lancing, in the same
neighbourhood.

In this same year, 1853, I was told by Mr. Dennis of
another example which had been shot by Mr. King, of East
Blatchington, on the 14th of June.- It happened in this way :
he had taken his gun to shoot some Starlings which had
annoyed him by building their nests on each side of his front
door, making a great mess, and while he was looking out for
them, a bird flew into an elm tree opposite, which he shot,
and finding it was not a Starling, sent it to Mr. Dennis. It
proved to be a female Golden Oriole, and shortly afterwards
IT saw it at Mr. Swaysland’s.

In May 1866 two male specimens were shown me by Mr.
Pratt, of Brighton, which he had just received in the flesh
from Lewes; and in the same month a male and female were
shot. by one of his sons, on the lawn of Preston Place, near
Brighton, which I also saw ; these latter were bought by the
late Bishop Wilberforce.

Mr. Whitaker, of West Grinstead Park, possesses a young
male specimen, which he told me was shot at Dial Post, in
that parish, by one of his keepers, on the 28th of June, 1888.

GOLDEN ORIOLE.—DIPPER. 43

Many years ago, I have unfortunately lost the date, I had
the rare pleasure of seeing no fewer than fourteen of these
beautiful birds sunning themselves on an old thorn-bush on
Henfield Common, and got within some forty or fifty yards of
them. I have never heard of any other instance of so large
a number having been seen. together. A pair of this species
frequented for some time a garden at Fittleworth, and would,
no doubt, have bred there, but they were unfortunately
shot, although every effort was made to keep them from being
disturbed.

In the ‘ Zoologist’ it is recorded (p. 268, s.s.) that a male
Golden Oriole was picked up dead, at East Grinstead, in May
1866; and at p. 334,s.s., is another note on Sussex spe-
cimens.

CINCLIDZ.
DIPPER.

Cinclus aquaticus.

Tue Dipper, or Water Ouzel, has very rarely been met
with in Sussex. In a list of birds compiled by Mr. Thos,
Woolgar, who died in 1821, printed in Horsfield’s ‘ History
of Lewes’ (Appendix, p. 18, vol. i.), one is stated to have
been shot at the mouth of the Ouse near Newhaven. A
second is recorded by Mr. J. H. Gurney, ‘ Zoologist’
(p. 2848, s.s.), which he saw at Mr. Gasson’s, the naturalist,
at Rye; it had the usual chestnut band on the lower part
of the breast ; and another is mentioned in the same journal
for 1884 (p. 471) by Mr. Thos. Parkin, of the Vicarage,
Halton, Hastings, as shot on the “ Salts” at. Bopeep, St.
Leonards-on-Sea, on September 13th of that year. | ____

44 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

TURDID.
MISTLETOE THRUSH.

Turdus viscivorus.

Tus species, though not so abundant as some of its con-
geners, is generally diffused throughout the county, frequent-
ing the small copses and open pastures where there are high
trees.

It is generally known here as the “ Screech ;” and, from
its habit of persistently singing from the top of some lofty
tree, during a heavy storm of wind and rain, it is also fre-
quently called the Storm Cock, also the Holm Thrush, from
its partiality to the holly or holm-bush, for the sake of its
berries. Although it may be considered a very wild bird at
all other seasons, yet in the spring time it becomes exceed-
ingly bold, and enters our gardens and orchards, where it
builds its nest in the most conspicuous places, and in its
defence will fearlessly attack, and generally drive off, every
bird, of whatever size, which may presume to approach it,
Then, after it and its family have enjoyed the fruit, particu-
larly cherries, and the protection of our gardens, the little
party betake themselves to the open country, and even to
the bare downs, till, on the approach of winter and hard
weather, they assemble in flocks, and resort to the berry-
bearing trees, more particularly to the holly, the mountain
ash, and the haw, on which fare they become exceedingly
plump, and, being by no means bad for the table, are much
persecuted by juvenile gunners.

This species receives large accessions from the continent
in the autumn. I may add that Gilbert White says, “The
Magpies, when they have young, destroy. the broods of

MISTLETOE THRUSH.—SONG THRUSH. 45

Missel Thrushes, though the dams are fierce birds, and fight
boldly in defence of their nests. It is probably to avoid
such insults that this species of Thrush, though wild at other
times, delights to build near houses, and in frequented walks
and gardens” (see ‘Natural History of Selborne,’ edit. of
1802, vol. ii. p. 165). On the 14th of February, 1859, my
gardener, hearing a great clamour of birds on the other side
of a wall from where he was working, went to see what was
the matter, when he saw a Missel Thrush take its departure
from a Hawfinch, which he picked up in an insensible state.
As it got better, I put it in a cage, where it soon got appa-
rently all right, and cracked some hawthorn-stones; but a
few hours after was dead.

‘SONG THRUSH.
Turdus musicus.

ExtrEMELY common everywhere, frequenting our gardens
and shrubberies, and when the time comes taking heavy toll
from fruits of all kinds. In return, however, for these de-
predations it repays us with its charming melody throughout
the year, though more especially in the spring. It destroys,
too, an enormous quantity of earthworms and snails, bringing
the latter to some favourite stone to break, where numbers
of the shells may frequently be found, and returning again
and again to this selected spot.

This species is resident, receiving large additions from the
North, of natives, and from the Has¢, of arrivals from the
continent in summer and autumn. It seems to be one of
the earliest resident birds to be affected by the cold, and is
frequently found dead on a sudden accession of frost, though,
as a rule, it retires to the coast, where it finds an abundant

46 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

supply of food, and roosts among the tangled herbage of the
mud-banks, which are covered by the highest tides only.
The Sussex name for the Song-Thrush is Greybird.

REDWING.
Turdus tliacus.

A REGULAR winter visitant, although occasionally a few
remain as late as April, which has led some to suppose that
it has bred in this county.

It generally arrives in October, when it resorts to the
grass land and enclosures, feeding on worms, &c., and not
taking so much to berries as the other species of the genus.

This bird does not seem to be forewarned by its instinct
of the approach of severe frost, so that I have often seen
numbers so overcome by the cold as scarcely to be able to
escape the prong, or shovel of the labourer, spreading the
dressing in the meadow.

It is said to roost on the ground, in pastures overgrown
with grass or rushes.

I have often seen little parties of this species in the
enclosures in Brighton, and particularly in the Pavilion
Gardens, where, in March 1889, several were walking about
within a few yards of my feet.

FIELDFARE.

Turdus pilaris.

Tuis species, like the last, is a regular winter visitor,
but occasionally appears as early as the second .week in

FIELDFARE'—BLACK-THROATED THRUSH. 47

September. It arrives in some years in very large flocks,

and betakes itself to the open country, and Particalarly
to meadows.

Its habits in general do not differ much from those of the
Redwing, but it is rather a wilder and hardier bird, and does
not scatter in so small parties over the country, and, when
disturbed by gunners, soon becomes very wary and difficult
of approach. The Fieldfare does not breed in this country.
It has generally left us by the end of April, though I have
once or twice seen one or two as late as May.

The call-note is very harsh, but it is said to have an agree-
able song. This bird breeds in large societies. The Sussex
name for it is “ Felt,” or “ Pigeon Feit,’ I imagine from the
blueness of its plumage, not from its size, for it is certainly
not larger than the Mistletoe Thrush. The berries of the
holly, the juniper, the mountain-ash, and the hawthorn,

as well as worms, &c., collected in the meadows, form its
principal food.

BLACK-THROATED THRUSH.
Turdus atrogularis.

As the only British specimen I have ever seen is that men-
tioned in Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ 4th edit. vol. i. p. 276,
I will merely quote therefrom :—“ Of this species a young
male example, shot near Lewes, December 23rd, 1868, was, on
the same day, taken to Mr. T. J. Monk, of that town, and
now forms part of his choice collection. Mr. Gould recorded
the capture in ‘The Ibis’ for January 1869 (p. 128), and a
note to the same purpose, from the owner of the specimen,
is printed in the ‘Zoologist’ for February (1888, p. 1560),
while the latter permitted Mr. Rowley, who himself saw the

48 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

bird before it was skinned, to exhibit it at a meeting of the
Zoological Society, on the 14th of January (Proc. Zool. Soc.
1869, p. 4).”

BLACKBIRD.
Turdus merula.

Tue Blackbird is the most common of the Thrush family,
abounding on our lawns and in our shrubberies, among
which it is one of the earliest to build its nest, and where it
frequently brings up several broods in a season. It feeds
greatly on various fruits, and devours large quantities of
worms and snails. After the breeding-season, it resorts a
good deal to the copses, and narrow strips of underwood and
timber, which so commonly divide the fields in the Weald of
Sussex, and are known as “ Shaws.”

But, although it is the hardiest of all our Thrushes, it
betakes itself to the sea-shore on the approach of very severe
frost, returning again to its inland haunts as soon as the
weather moderates. It does not associate in large flocks,
but is said to receive, in the autumn, considerable additions
from other parts.

RING OUSEL.
Turdus torquatus.

Tue first notices I have of the Ring Ousel in Sussex are,
that a male was shot at Chestham, Henfield, in September
1839, and a female caught at Portslade, in Mr. J. Borrer’s
greenhouse ; it seems to be very fond of grapes. On the

RING OUSEL. 49

31st of October, 1840, I saw one which had been shot at
Brighton a few days previously, and on the 21st of September
of the following year, one shot at Westmeston. I also know
of one, obtained near Lewes, as early as the 6th of April,
and another occurred near Brighton in October 1842, and
several more in the same month of the next year. On the
18th of September, 1853, I was walking up to the Rectory
at Petworth, and my attention being attracted by their
harsh note, I saw several Ring Ousels flying from a moun-
tain-ash in the garden, and afterwards had a good view of
them from a window, feeding on the berries. On the South
Downs these birds still continue their migrations, as they
did in the time of Gilbert White.

Mr. Knox merely observes that it is a passing visitor in
spring and autumn, resting for a few days among the
junipers and holly-bushes on our elevated commons and
highest downs.

Mr. Booth, in his ‘ Rough Notes,’ writes as follows :—“I
possess the best evidence that a pair reared their young in
the spring of 1865, in the lower branches of a stunted thorn-
bush in a sloping hollow of the South Downs near Thunder’s
Barrow, between Portslade and the Dyke Hill, the juveniles
being seen near the same spot, attended by the old birds, a
week or so after they were observed in the nest. My in-
formant also stated that the previous year a shepherd had
told him that a bird, resembling a Blackbird with a white
ring round the throat, had taken up its quarters in a ruined
hovel in one of the valleys among the hills near Hangleton,
the nest having been placed on the wall-plate in the space
left where one of the rafters had fallen away. Though this
Ousel is generally well known in this part of Sussex, a few
being seen annually in spring while on the passage towards
the north, and numbers frequenting the hills about Falmer,
Patcham, and Portslade, during the latter end of autumn,

E

50 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

I fail to learn of other instances of this species remaining
during summer in the county.”

I cannot say that this story of Mr. Booth’s is perfectly
satisfactory, but I leave it to my readers to take it for what
it is worth. The Ring Ousel feeds on various berries,
especially on those of mountain-ash, the yew, and the haw-
thorn, as well as on worms and snails.

My. Ellman records, in the ‘ Zoologist ’ for 1850 (p. 2698):
“The number of Ring Ousels passing southward during this
autumn has been astonishing. Large flocks were seen con-
tinually on the Downs from September till nearly the end of
October. No one can ever recollect their being so plentiful
before.” And Mr. W. Jeffery, writing from Ratham, near
Chichester, under date 12th to 20th of April, 1866, states,
with refererice to the same bird, “a few... have been
obtained during the migration; as a rule, they are not
nearly so numerous nor so frequently met with here at this
time of the year as in the autumn ” (‘ Zoologist,’ p. 266, s.s.).

Mr. Jeffery also states, in his private notes, that he has
met with considerable numbers in Kingly Vale, near
Chichester.

SYLVIIDA.
ALPINE ACCENTOR.
Accentor collaris. *'

As this species is strictly an inhabitant of rocky and moun-
tainous districts, it has rarely been observed in the county,
and only once by myself. This specimen I distinctly saw,
and watched through a binocular for some minutes, on my
own lawn at Cowfold, when it suddenly rose up and dis-

ALPINE ACCENTIOR.—HEDGE SPARROW. 51

appeared round the corner of the house, and I could not find
it again. I have lost the date. My attention was called to
it by its shambling gait, and by the bright chestnut colour
of its sides,

In Yarrell’s ‘British Birds,’ vol. i. p. 297, it is thus
written :— Mr, Porter states (‘ Zoologist,’ p. 5958) that on
December 26th, 1857, two were shot on the Downs near
Lewes, and Mr. Dennis, writing to me respecting the same
specimens, informs me that they were shot near Hailsham.”

HEDGE SPARROW.
Accentor modularis.

Turs generally diffused and unobtrusive little bird is one of
the tamest and most familiar of all the inhabitants of our
gardens, and is fond of frequenting the immediate precincts
of our dwellings, where it diligently searches the drains and
sewers, &c. Notwithstanding its peaceful disposition, it
generally manages to hold its own very well in the
numerous contests with its fellow pensioners for the food
thrown out of window for the birds in general, in the winter.
It is extremely hardy, never seeming to shift its locality in
the severest weather, and even when the ground is covered
with snow, it may be heard uttering its simple but cheering
little song. ‘Whether its note is of a sufficiently distinguished
order to entitle it to its specific name “ Modularis ” I cannot
say, but that it is a welcome addition to the monotony of a
wintry morning I think will be readily admitted by all.

Its food consists principally of imsects and vegetable
matter. It has a peculiar habit of continually flirting up
its wings as it moves about, which has given rise to the pro-
vincial name of “ Shufflewing,” but in this county. it is

generally known as the “ Hedgepick.”’ .
E2

52 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

REDBREAST.
Erithacus rubecula.

Tus appears to be a universal favourite, and from its con-
fiding nature and familiarity has earned for itself in most of
the countries it inhabits some name or other of endearment
and affection.

Wherever the labourer may go, not only in the garden,
but even in the distant woodlands, no sooner does he begin
to break up the ground than the Robin is with him to pick
up any worm or grub that he may happen to disturb, and
may often be seen sitting on the handle of some tool which
he may have cast aside.

Notwithstanding this tameness with regard to man, he is
most pugnacious, and shows the greatest audacity should
any other of his own species presume to come too near to
his nest, or even to the part of the garden he may have
arrogated to himself. He sings in the spring, but princi-
pally in the autumn and winter. The Robin feeds on berries
and most garden fruits, and is especially addicted to red
currants. Worms also, and chrysalids, form a considerable
portion of his diet, and he is very fond of corn in general,
more particularly of wheat. He feeds also on the berries of
the mountain-ash.

Although he is resident he is partially migratory, and
receives periodical additions from the continent, This bird
is an early riser, and one of the last to retire at night. The
materials of the nest appear to vary greatly, being sometimes
moss, feathers, and hair, at another principally dead leaves.
It is frequently found on the ground or on a bank, or
perhaps on the wall-plate of an outbuilding, or a hole in a
wall, I was once shown a nest in a lectern in the church
of Ashington, and heard of another built under the seat of

REDBREAST.—NIGHTINGALE. 53

a gentleman’s carriage, where it hatched its young, but the
carriage being one day wanted, food was put in, and the old
bird was enclosed, but on returning home the young were
found dead.

NIGHTINGALE.
Daulias luscinia.

Arter all that has been written of this delightful songster
there is no necessity for me to describe its habits, its habitat,
or its history. But, sad to say, there is in my immediate
neighbourhood a district wherein tradition saith that the
Nightingale shall not be heard. A holy recluse, who had
fixed his cell in St. Leonard’s forest, is said to have been
so disturbed in his devotions by its continual singing that
he banished it from its precincts. Indeed some say that the
recluse was no other than St. Leonard himself, but it is
hard to put the saddle on the right horse at this distance of
time, for the legend is at least as old as the days of
Henry VIII., since, in the ‘ Boke of Knowledge,’ by Andrew
Borde, physician to that king, occurs the following passage :—.
“In the forest of Saint Leonarde’s in Southsexe, there dothe
never singe Nightingale, although the foreste rounde aboute
in tyme of the yeare is replenyshed (sic) with Nightyngales ;
they wyl syng round aboute the forest and never within the
precincts of the forest, as divers keepers of the foreste and
other credible parsons dwellyng there dyd shewe me.”* But
whatever “credible parsons” say or said, I myself have
frequently heard the aforesaid songster pouring forth his
melody, regardless of consequences, in many parts of the

forest.

*See ‘Sussex Archeological Collections, vol, vi. p. 212.

54 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

BLUETHROAT.
Ruticilla suecica.

A vemate was killed near Worthing May 2, 1853, and is
mentioned in Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ (vol. i. p. 322).
October 1, 1862, a beautiful adult bird was seen by a hoy
on the South Downs, between Brighton and Stanmore Park,
flying among the furzes from bush to bush. It was in the
fullest plumage. It uttered no note, and on perching spread
out its tail. The boy knocked it down with a stick, and
took it alive to Mr. Pratt’s shop at Brighton, where I saw
it. It had been put in a cage and kept very much to the
bottom of it, and even then spread out its tail to its fullest
extent when disturbed. It looked all right, but Mr. Pratt,
fearing it would spoil its plumage in the cage, soon after-
wards killed it, and set it up for me, and I now have it in
my own collection. In this specimen the spot in the centre
of the breast is bright chestnut-red. It feeds on insects,
but of its general habits I have no personal knowledge, and I
can only add that to this county it is a visitant of the greatest
rarity. Both these examples are recorded in the ‘ Zoologist,’
the first at p. 3907, the second at p. 8281.

REDSTART.
Ruticilla phenicurus.

Tue Redstart appears about the middle of April, resting for
a few days near the coast, especially in some grassy spot,
even in towns, such as the lawns of the Pavilion at Brighton,
and in Wellington Square at Hastings, in both of -which
places I have seen it picking up insects, worms, &c. It has

REDSTART. 5B

a very soft and pleasing note, but.I have never heard it in
Sussex, though frequently in other counties.

It is most common on the alluvial tracts between the
Downs and the sea in west Sussex, and to the eastward
about Hastings and Redhill. It is also occasionally met
with on the sandy parts about Storrington and Henfield, and
much more rarely in the clayey portions of the Weald. I
have only seen three examples at Cowfold in forty years,
one on my lawn in April 1849, and a male accompanied by
a young bird in my orchard in 1852.

It breeds very sparingly in Sussex, in old fruit trees, in
holes in the trunk, or in the interior of the thatch of some
outbuilding, or in a wall. It builds a rather loose nest with
a good deal of green moss externally, and lines it principally
with horsehair and a few feathers, but is not very particular
respecting the material, as I once found that it had made
use of about a quarter of a yard of valuable lace, which it
had stolen from a summerhouse where a lady had been
sitting at work. It is remarkable that it should so seldom
breed in Sussex, as I have frequently, in my younger days,
found the nest in the very southernmost parts of Surrey,
especially about Leith Hill.

BLACK REDSTART.
Ruticilla titys.

Is a regular autumn visitant to the coast, but appears to have
been long overlooked, though one of the first examples
noticed in England was obtained near Brighton (at Hove)
in 1830 (Yarrell, B. B. vol. i. p. 338).

It generally arrives about October, but although it has
occasionally remained as late as April, I am not aware that

56 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

the nest has ever been found in Sussex. With us it is very
much confined to the seaside, and is fond of flitting about
the rocks, or clinging to the face of the cliffs, and even to
the parapets of the houses in Brighton, and it also has been
observed to do the same at Worthing and Hastings. Its
principal food is insects, but I once saw a quantity of hop-
seeds taken from the crop of one which had been shot on a
heap of manure, on which had been thrown some refuse from
a brewery.

I have notes, made at the time, of an immature male shot
in the neighbourhood of Brighton, October 20th, 1843, and
of a female shot there November 20th, 1849, also of a finely
marked adult male shot in Brighton Park, November 23rd,
1857, as well as of another male, obtained on March 7th,
1859, at Hill’s Farm, near Horsham, an unusual distance
from the sea.

Mr. Knox characterizes this bird as a winter visitant, and
‘mentions several specimens of it as obtained from Brighton,
and others from Chichester and Hastings.

References to the ‘ Zoologist’ are :—(P. 188) “ A Black
Redstart was shot on a wall at Brighton, on October 16th,
and another, also on a wall, in December 1839, and between
the latter date and April 1843 three males and one female
were seen and shot, all by Mr. Swaysland.” (P. 2799) An
adult bird killed at Piddinghoe, March 31st, and an imma-
ture male near Lewes, April 1st, 1852. (P. 3033) A female
shot in a chalk-pit near Lewes. (P. 3329) One killed at
Brighton, November 26th. (P. 9040) Another caught by a
birdcatcher near Eastbourne, in November 1864, and again
another, near Birling Gap. (P. 597,s.s.) A pair seen and
female shot, at Ashling, in October 1862. (P. 3476) Another
shot at Railton, near Eastbourne. (P. 8907) One taken near
Worthing, 1853.

From the number appearing every year along the coast

STONECHAT.—WHINCHAT. 57

since it was first distinguished, the Black Redstart can
scarcely now be called a very rare bird; in fact it may be

classed as a regular winter visitant, though in small
numbers.

STONECHAT.
Saxicola rubicola.

Resipenr, but less numerous, in winter, principally fre-
quenting the masses of furze on the Downs, or the open
heaths and commons more inland, where it may be seen
perched on the highest points of the furze, constantly
uttering its note, which has been compared to the sound
made by knocking two stones together, hence the name.
It also gives forth a rather pleasing little song while flitting
about from bush to bush.

It feeds on insects, and particularly on beetles. In April
it builds a rather large and clumsy nest of coarse grass and
green moss, generally on the ground on the inside of a furze,

or other bush (close to the bottom), and well concealed by
thick herbage.

WHINCHAT.

Saxicola rubetra.

Tus little bird arrives about the middle of April. It is to
be found in similar districts to the preceding, and particu-
larly in large tracts of furze, but is more generally diffused,
being partial to enclosed parts of the Weald, where it may
often be found about the hedges of our meadows and culti-

58 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

vated fields, flitting about from bush to bush, feeding on
insects and berries, particularly on blackberries.

I am not aware of its having any actual song, its usual
note being a hurried repetition of the syllables “ tic-tic.”

It is fond of perching about on the haycocks in haymaking
time, and builds its nest on the ground, formed of grass, aud
lined with the finer portions of the same.

In the northern counties “ Whin” is the name of what
we call “ Furze,” whence they call this bird “ Whinchat”
and we Furzechat, both, of course, from its fondness for
that shrub. In some parts of Sussex it is also known as the
Barleyear, though from what cause I have never been able
to discover. This and the Stonechat are also known as the
Stonechucker.”

WHEATEAR.
Saxicola enanthe.

Tuz Wheatear is, I think, the earliest of our immigrants,
as I was in the habit, some years since, of riding to a certain
spot on the Downs every spring, on purpose to see if it had
yet come, and there are few seasons in which I have not
found it there on the lst of March. It arrives sometimes
in large numbers together. I remember on the morning of
the 22nd of March, ‘1881, at Eastbourne, the beach about
7 a.m. was completely covered with them, and they were
sitting in numbers on the small trees, and on the backs of
the seats on the esplanade, and I saw also several parties of
ten or a dozen arriving from the sea. They did not appear
at all fatigued, and on my going again to the esplanade at
10.30 there was not one to be seen.

_ A celebrated old shepherd of the South Downs, in a com-

WHEATEAR. 59

munication of great interest made to the late Mr. Blencowe,
of the Hook, near Chailey, speaking of a time when, in 1882,
he was head shepherd on Westside Farm, near Brighton,
states thus :—‘ The farm extending along the seacoast, I
caught great numbers of Wheatears during the season for
taking them, which lasts from the middle of July to the end
of August. The most I ever caught in one day was thirteen
dozen, but we thought it a good day if we caught three or
four dozen. We sold them to a poulterer at Brighton, who
took all we could catch in a season at 18d. a dozen. - From
what I have heard from old shepherds, it cannot be doubted
that they were caught in much greater numbers a century
ago than of late. I have heard them speak of an immense
number being taken in one day by a shepherd at East Dean,
near Beachy Head. I think they said he took nearly a
hundred dozen, so many that they could not thread them on
crow-quills, in the usual manner, but he took off his round
frock and made a sack of it to put them into, and his wife
did the same with her petticoat. This must have happened
when there was a great flight. Their numbers now are so
decreased that some shepherds do not set up any coops, as it
does not pay for the trouble.”

Mr. Mark Antony Lower, in his ‘ Glimpses of our Sussex
Ancestors,’ p. 96, gives the following amusing colloquy
between two old shepherds :— One was telling the other
how he had known the time when in a single year from
forty to fifty thousand sheep had been washed near the spot
where they were sitting. ‘And now,’ he exclaimed, ‘there
be none! . . . As to birding, he continued, in a still more
doleful tone, ‘ birding is now all auver; why I used to make
quite a harvest of my birds; twelve pound a year I have
made of my birds, and one year I made fourteen pound eight
shillings. We sent them, you see, to Burthemson (Bright-
helmstone—Brighton), and otherwhile we catched so many

60 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

that the Burthemsoners couldn’t take ’em all, and I myself
have sent some to Tunbridge Wells. That was the time of
dee, Old Boy, for shepherds.’ ”

The song is rarely uttered except when the female is
sitting close at hand, and the performer is generally perched
on a stone, or some ant-hill overgrown with grass ; it is short
and very pleasing, and is repeated every few minutes. On
these occasions the bird is remarkably imperturbable, and I
have heard it continue its song without showing the least
concern while I have taken its loving partner from her nest
in an old rabbit-hole.

The nest is usually a mass of short pieces of the fern
generally known in Sussex as Brake (Pteris aquilina, the
Bracken of the North), and moss, wool, and rabbit’s fur.
A rabbit’s hole being the only place in which I have found
it, the nest has always been too much pulled to pieces for
me to see what might have been its form before it was
disturbed.

To show how great a luxury these birds were formerly
considered for the table we may look back to the time of
Charles II., and I cannot refrain from giving the following
extract from ‘Sussex Archeological Collections, vol. xi.
(p. 82) 1859 :—“In the coat of arms of the Wilsons well
do the Wheatears deserve a conspicuous quartering. The
finest and fattest birds were found on the Downs about
Beachy Head; and, alas! in far greater numbers than is the
case nowadays. They were a great card in Mr. Wilson’s
hand, and he played it freely and ably. Who shall say
whether his loyalty or his Wheatears had most to do with
his elevation to the rank of baronet, which took place
almost immediately after the Restoration ? Certain it is that
Charles II. was exceedingly fond of them, and equally certain
that Mr. Wilson supplied his Majesty very freely.

“Dr. Burton, writing to his daughter, tells her he had

WHEATEAR. 61

heard that at a dinner given by the Earl of Dorset to the
King and the Duke of York, they had eaten twenty dozen of
them.”

Again (pp. 83, 84) “I heare,”’ writes the Earl of Dorset,
“that my old friend Mr. Dr. Burton (the Rector of Broad-
water) is nott at Bourne; but understanding you to dwell
there, I am hopeful to procure the same friendly respects I
was wont to receive from him. My request is, that when
Wheatears are best, you would, for the short time they last,
now and theu oblige mee with some of them. I would not
bee a beggar, as poore as I am, if they weare provisions to
be bought for money in these parts ; but since you are there-
abouts a great, if not sole master of them, I am very willing
to be beholdinge to you, with assurance that, whensoever it
is in my power, you shall finde me

“ Your very affecté friend,

“ July 30, 1646.” “ Dorset.”

Fuller, in his ‘ Worthies’ (vol. ii. p. 382), thus describes
them :—“ Wheatears is a bird peculiar to this country,
hardly found out of it. It is so called because fattest when
wheat is ripe, whereon it feeds, being no bigger than a Lark,
which it equals in the fineness of its flesh, but far exceedeth
in the fatness thereof. . . . That palate man shall pass in
silence, who, being seriously demanded his judgement con-
cerning the abilities of a great lord, concluded him a man
of very weak parts, because he once saw him, at a great
feast, feed on chickens when there were Wheatears on the
table.’ Mr. Harting, in his ‘Summer Migrants,’ very aptly
remarks “that Wheatear is a corruption from Whitear, the
white around the ear being very conspicuous in spring
plumage of this species, or else it must be derived from the
season of its arrival,’’ and this latter is suggested by Mr.
A. C. Smith, in his ‘Birds of Wiltshire’ (p, 152), as the
true origin, adding “ but then I submit that it cannot allude

62 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

to the wheat being in ear, when it reaches us in the middle
of March, but must refer to the old meaning of ear, ‘ to
plough,’ and unquestionably the Wheatear does arrive wheu
the ploughing and sowing of spring wheat is in operation.”
The quantity of open grassland on the South Downs being
so much diminished of late years by ploughing, the immense
number of these birds which rest upon them on their pass-
age from the inland counties must, from mere want of space,
be compelled to resort in considerable numbers to the
fallows, and they have thence obtained the name of Fallow-
chat.

I have never met with the Wheatear in the Weald in any
number together, but only now and then two or three
isolated birds, on some common or some open meadow on
their first appearance, and again at the time of their de-
parture. I have occasionally observed on the South Downs,
though much more frequently in the birdstuffers’ shops, a
considerably larger race of Wheatear than those ordinarily
met with. Though it has never been admitted as a distinct
species, it differs not only in size, but in its habit of perch-
ing in trees when disturbed. The best published account
of this race which I have met with is that of Mr. Booth,
who, in his ‘ Rough Notes,’ vol. ii. says thus :—* In addition
to the bird which arrives on our coast in March and early
in April, a larger variety makes its appearance at a some-
what later date. This form is seldom seen before the middle
of April, and continues to land till the end of the first or
second week in May. It is perfectly correct that the
common Wheatear seldom, if ever, perches on trees or
bushes, though the large form, if disturbed, usually makes
its way to a commanding position either on a twig or a
hedgerow, or even on the topmost branches of some lofty
tree. . . . I never succeeded in discovering the nest of the
larger Wheatear. I have, however, been assured, by persons

JG Keulermans delet th Mintern Bros. Chromo hth

THE RUFOUS WARBLER.

WHEATEAR.—RUFOUS WARBLER. 63

well acquainted with the variety, that these birds breed on
the South Downs at times in rabbit-burrows, after the
fashion of their smaller relatives. The eggs are described
as being slightly marked with rusty blotches or spots. This
information concerning their nesting I give for what it is
worth, my own opinion being that this form only passes
our islands on its way to the far North... . With regard
to the habits of the two forms, they may be described as
similar, with the exception of the far later date at which the
larger form reaches our shores, and its predilection for
perching on bushes or trees.”’

RUFOUS WARBLER.

Aedon galactodes.

Tue first example of this species obtained in England was
shot by Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton, at Plumpton Bosthill,
about six miles from that town, on the 16th of September,
1854. I quote from his letter to me, which I have before
me: “ When I first saw it I took it for a cream-coloured
Nightingale, but as I had no gun with me I had to go four
miles for one; when I returned it was near 6 o’clock p.m.
I found the bird about twenty yards from where I first saw
it, in some furze. There were no trees within quarter of a
mile of the place. The bird was very shy, and I was quite
sure it was not a common Nightingale, as it. had more of the
appearance and flight of the young of the Red-backed Shrike,
and when alighted in the furzebush it did not stop in till I
came near to it, but took a circle round, about sixteen yards
from the ground, back to the same place from whence I first.
drove it. It was difficult to get within thirty yards of it.”

64 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

I obtained the bird and sent it to Mr. Yarrell, from whom
I received a letter stating it to be Sylvia galactodes ; see
‘British Birds, vol. i. p. 356, where the words quoted are:
“The bird, on dissection, proved to be a male, and would
shortly have moulted, one or two of the young feathers of
the primaries having made their appearance on each wing ;
these are darker than the old ones. The feathers also on
the back and tail, especially the central ones of the latter,
are much worn.”

Respecting this bird I have no further personal knowledge,
neither have I ever heard of any other specimen being

obtained in this country. I recorded it in the ‘ Zoologist,’
p- 4511.

GREAT REED-WARBLER.
Acrocephalus arundinaceus.

AutHoueH the specimen was not obtained, I venture to
insert the following taken from the private notes of Mr.
Jeffery :— 1885, July 26. Saw a bird in Ratham garden,
which I feel satisfied was the Thrush-like Warbler of Yarrell,
S. turdoides of Gould’s ‘Birds of Europe.’ The note was
harsh and guttural, and reminded me of the Ring Ousel.
It had also another note, a high-toned shriek. I had a good
view of it close, and noticed positively that the tail was
wedge-shaped, size rather larger than the Nightingale, which
bird it much resembled in colour.”

REED-WARBLER, 65

REED-W ARBLER.

Acrocephalus streperus.

Tus little bird arrives late in April, and as a species is
somewhat local. It is seldom found far from water, though
the nest has occasionally occurred at some considerable dis-
tance from it. Soon after its arrival it betakes itself to the
reed-beds of our river banks, or to those ditches in the
marshy levels through which those rivers generally flow for
a few miles before reaching the sea; there it forms its nest
among the reeds in such a manner as to be supported by
two or three, or three or four, reed-stems carefully woven
into its structure, and as the reeds are constantly swayed
to and fro by the winds, it is constructed of unusual
depth, by which the eggs are not liable to be thrown out.

The Cuckoo very frequently selects the Reed-Warbler as
a foster-mother to its young.

Its food consists of insects and small mollusca. It is
rather silent during the day, only occasionally uttering a
sort of chatter, but after sunset it suddenly breaks out into
song and continues singing incessantly throughout the
night.

It may be met with in suitable spots about most of the
large reed-fringed ponds in the county, particularly some of
those in St. Leonard’s Forest, and had at one time a favourite
haunt on the Salts Farm, not far west of the old bridge at
Shoreham, over the Adur, but on the opening of the railway
the birds forsook the place. It is still abundant on the
banks of the Arun, from Burpham to Amberley, though
about the latter place it is becoming less numerous owing to
the draining of the marshes.

66 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

SEDGE-WARBLER.
Acrocephalus schaenobenus.

Arrivine in April, and spreading immediately over the
county, it betakes itself to some sedgy willow-plot, or to the
borders of some ditch or brook overgrown by aquatic herb-
age, or even to the banks of ponds and pits. Here, among
stunted hawthorn or other bushes, browsed down by cattle
or nibbled by rabbits, it frequently builds its nest. I have
more than once found it in a bean-field by the water, where
the crop was bound down by the white convolvulus, aptly
called in Sussex, and probably in other counties, the “ bind-
weed.” <A field of beans, if near any pond or brook, has
certainly a peculiar attraction for this bird, and it is fond of
sitting and singing among them, probably beéause it is there
well concealed and can find a plentiful supply of aphides and
such like congenial food.

It is not so much attached to reed-beds as the preceding
species, and not being so much exposed to the winds, its
nest 18 more open and not so deep. It keeps up a constant
chattering by day and during the greater part of the night,
and, should it be a short time silent, its song will be at once
resumed should a stone be ‘thrown into its place of con-
cealment.

It not unfrequently sings on the'wing while mounting up
to a considerable height on to a willow or other tree near
the waterside, rising to its perch with a quivering flight, and
descending again to the thick herbage, very much in the
manner of the Tree-Pipit, when, after rising in the air, it
returns to the highest poimt of a tree or bush. Like most
of its congeners it leaves the country in September, in the
early part of which month I have often flushed a considerable

JG Keulemans, delet. ith Mintern Bros. Chromo lith.
THE AQUATIC WARBLER.
Acrocephalus aquaticus

SEDGE-WARBLER.—AQUATIC WARBLER. 67

number of them, while shooting in the turnips on the north
side of, and in close proximity to, tne South Downs, Mr.
Jeffery, in his private notes, states that it imitates the song
of the Willow-Warbler.

AQUATIC WARBLER.
Acrocephalus aquaticus.

Tue first example of this species which had then been re-
cognized in England, and the only one which has yet been
recorded as having occurred in this county, was shot by
Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, on the 19th of October, 1853, from
whom I obtained it. Though I took it at first to be a very
bright example of the Sedge Warbler, I was never perfectly
satisfied about it, and on showing it to Professor Newton he
at once pronounced it to be the above species, and most
kindly exhibited it at a meeting of the Zoological Society
(vide Proc. Zool. Soc. 1865, p. 210).

Till Professor Newton saw the example in my collection
this species had never been included in any work on British
Ornithology. I confess, therefore, that I did not know
what it was. Its habits are, doubtless, very similar to those
of the preceding species, but, as I have never even seen
the bird alive ,I can say nothing of them from personal
knowledge. fee

In the ‘Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich
Naturalists’ Society’ for 1871 and 1872, Mr. J. H. Gurney
remarks: “I cannot help thinking that the Aquatic Warbler
often occurs in this country. . . . There can be no doubt
that the figure in Hunt’s ‘British Birds’ was taken from
one in all probability obtained in Norfolk, but there is no

letterpress to accompany it.”
F2

68 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

GRASSHOPPER-WARBLER.
Acrocephalus nevius.

Turs, like most of our immigrants, arrives in the county in
April, departing in September. It is by no means uncom-
mon, and, provided there is sufficient concealment, it does
not seem at all particular in the choice: of its locality;
neither does the immediate vicinity of water appear to be
requisite,

For its nesting purposes, however, it chooses some tangled
hedgerow, or some spot in a thick furze-field, where the
ground is overgrown with long grass and close-growing
herbage, and the nest is most carefully concealed. It is
fond of placing it in a wheel-rut close to a hedge and over-
grown with weeds, and when approaching or leaving it, is
careful not to show itself within forty or fitty yards of it,
which makes it extremely difficult to discover the nest, the
rut being often full of brambles and rough bushes. As a
proof of the difficulty of finding the nest, I am quite sure
that one pair at least have, for the last forty years, bred
within a hundred yards of my house, but I have sought it
in vain. Besides the places I have mentioned, this bird
frequently builds in marshy spots covered with sedge or
flags. I have never found the nest myself, but my son
brought me the eggs from one he found some years ago in
St. Leonard’s Forest.

That the bird is so little known is hardly to be wondered
at, as even its trilling note would not strike an ordinary
observer as having anything to do with a bird, and might
easily be supposed to proceed from a cricket or grasshopper,
and should he catch sight of it in the cover, its movements
are so much like those of a mouse, that he might easily mis-
take itfor one. It is, moreover, frequently a difficult matter

GRASSHOPPER-WARBLER.—DARTFORD WARBLER. 69

to ascertain from whence the sound proceeds, which may
perhaps be accounted for by the habit which the bird has
while uttering its note of turning its head in all directions.
I once watched a Grasshopper-Warbler from a seat in a
summerhouse, not more than eight or ten yards distant from
it, and was surprised to see that, while pouring forth its
note, its mouth appeared to be wide open, and I could not
detect the slightest movement of either mandible, but it
might have been too rapid for my eye to follow. During all
this time it kept up a constant quivering with its wings.

DARTFORD WARBLER.
Melizophilus undatus.

Tuis bird is found locally in many parts of the South
Downs, where it is resident. I have also frequently seen
it when shooting in turnips near the northern slope of those
hills, and have traced it from Dover to the Land’s End.

It is occasionally found on furzy commons further in-
land. It is not so abundant in the locality named as it
formerly was, partly owing to the nests having of late years
been taken in considerable numbers, and to heavy snows
having broken down the furze.

Mr. Knox mentions a nest having been taken on the
3rd of May, 1844, on the “ Broyle,” near Chichester.

In the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 3113) Mr, Ellman gives an in-
teresting account of the manners of the Dartford Warbler,
and mentions a female shot by him on the 12th of October,
and a male, on the 7th of November, 1851. Mr. Wilson
states, in the same journal (p. 6606), that in the neighbour-
hood of Worthing, a male and female were taken in the
summer of 1853, a male in 1857, and young in 1858. At

70 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX

p. 59, s.s., Mr. Booth writes of the same bird, that it. gene-
rally feeds its young on the bodies of a large yellow moth,
and that in winter, he has severa: vimes met with it among
stunted thorn-bushes and straggling furze, on the beach
between Eastbourne and Pevensey.

Mr. Harting mentions that he shot a male specimen on
Beptou Hill, February 16th, 1863. Mr. Jeffery also ob-
served a pair on Heyshot Common, near Midhurst (see
‘Zoologist’ for 1881, p. 49); and Mrs. Merrifield, in her
‘Sketch of the Natural History of Brighton,’ speaks of the
Dartford Warbler as a very scarce bird (pp. 167, 168).

In a letter from Mr. Ellman, dated April 29th, 1852, he
informs me that young Dartford Warblers can fly well, and
that instead of being a late breeder, it is the earliest he
knows of. He says:— Yesterday I saw thirty or forty
full-grown young ones, but with the tail-feathers. only an
inch in length, and the bill only half grown.” He further
says that he has found these birds in considerable numbers
on parts of the South Downs about Lewes and Seaford.

I am not aware that it has any provincial name in Sussex,
but in Dorsetshire, on the heaths about Bournemouth, it is
known by the cowboys by the remarkable title of “The
French Blackbird,”’ and indeed it is not inapplicable, for
few, if any, birds that are not black, look darker when on
the wing.

WHITETHROAT.
Sylvia rufa.

Tuts species makes its first appearance in April, but it is
not till May is pretty well advanced that it arrives in any
considerable numbers. - 1t is then in very bright plumage,

WHITETHROAT.—LESSER WHITETHROAT. 71

having the breast almost pink. After the breeding-season
it becomes much duller, assuming a somewhat faded ap-
pearance. It.frequents hedgerows and plantations, where it
may often be heard and seen, as it has a habit of rising
suddenly a foot or two above the top of a hedge, singing
loudly, jerking its tail, flitting about for a moment, and then
disappearing again into its thickest parts.

It feeds on insects, though, from its great partiality to the
rows of pea-sticks in the kitchen garden, it is generally
accused of doing great injury to the crop, and devouring
great quantities of peas, whereas it is engaged in the search
of aphides and caterpillars. It does, however, take a fair
share of currants, and delights in raspberries. It generally
nests in the roughest brambles near the ground, and from
its being partial to thick beds of nettles, it has obtained the
name of Nettlecreeper. The Whitethroat composes its nest
of dead grass, and is specially fond of using the stalks of the
common white Galium, generally known as lady’s bedstraw,

_ lining it very slightly with horsehair.

LESSER WHITETHROAT.
Sylvia curruca.

In the Weald this is less abundant than the former species,
though all along the coast it even exceeds it in numbers.

It arrives about the middle of April, and usually remains
with us till the end of September, feeding on insects and
various berries, particularly those of the ivy, the elder, and
the privet. It is not so noisy as the preceding, its notes,
though abundant, being pitched in a lower key. If any one
approaches it when it has young- both parents show the

72 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

greatest alarm, flitting from branch to branch, and uttering
unceasingly a note resembling the syllable “ churr,” repeated
over and over again with the greatest rapidity.

The nest is formed of the very finest bents of dried stalks,
generally of umbelliferous plants, with the hairs of horses

and cattle, and is placed in the middle of the thickest
bushes. ,

GARDEN-WARBLER.
Sylvia salicaria.

Tux Garden-Warbler arrives late, and does not make itself
heard in the Weald earlier than the end of April. Itisa
very shy and retiring bird, being much more often heard
than seen. In my own neighbourhood it generally, at first,
conceals itself in low bushes in copses and hedgerows, or in
shrubberies, and it is not till it has been some time in the
country that its notes are heard from the tops of the oaks
and other high trees. In fact I do not think it is heard
much before the hen is sitting on its nest. From that time
it continues to sing from the tops of the trees till the end of
July or the beginning of August. It is very fond of fruit,
for which it enters our gardens, and pays special attention
to the cherries, whence it has obtained the name of “ Cherry-
sucker ;”” it feeds also on many other berries, especially
those of the ivy, the privet, and theelder. It builds a rather
slight-looking nest, though firmly put together, and consist-
ing of the lightest dried grass and goose-grass, lined with
cow’s hair and a little wool.

To my mind, its song, though often much more continuous,
is not so attractive as that of the Blackcap, nor does it con-
clude with the clear flute-like notes of that species. The

GARDEN-WARBLER.—BLACKCAP. 73

editor of Vol. I. of the 4th edition of Yarrell’s B. B.
informs us that it was first made known as a native of this
country by Willughby.

BLACKCAP.
Sylvia atricapilla.

Tue Blackcap, the Wheatear, and the Chiffchaff are, I
think, the earliest of our immigrants to herald the glad
tidings of the approach of spring. I have several times
heard the very pleasing note of the Blackcap as early as the
lst of March. Like the Garden-Warbler it is very fond of
fruits and berries, and it appears to have the same predi-
lection for cherries, privet, and elderberries.

The nest also is very similar, but the bird is much more
familiar, and often places it in shrubberies, where it seems
rather to court its destruction by selecting some loose and
open-growing bush such as the snowberry, in one of which,
in my own garden, a nest was built for four consecutive
seasons, presumably by the same pair of birds, or by the
advice of a survivor of a former tenant of the nest.

‘I have not noticed that it betakes itself to higher branches
of the trees, but it appears rather to prefer the lower shrubs
and bushes. It leaves the country early in September. Mr.
Jeffery remarks, in his private notes, that the Blackcap feeds
on ripe figs, the berries of the Daphne mezereum, and those
of the mountain-ash, which it swallows whole.

74 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

ORPHEAN WARBLER.
Sylvia orphea.

Tue only reason to suppose that this species has ever
occurred in Sussex, is the statement made by Mr. Gould, on
Mr. Howard Saunders’s authority, and repeated in the fourth
edition of Yarrell’s B. B. (vol. i. p. 424), to the effect that
eges believed to have belonged to it have been taken at Hast
Grinstead.

WOOD-W REN.

Phylloscopus sibilatrix. .

Gitzert Waite seems to have been the first to clearly dis-
tinguish this species, though it is stated in Yarrell’s ‘ British
Birds’ (vol. i. pp. 386, 428, note) that Johnson, of Brignall,
in Yorkshire, had described it to Ray. It is a summer im-
migrant, somewhat local, arriving in the first or second week
in May, when, after passing over the Downs and the clays
of the Weald, and remaining a few days among the high
trees on its route, it settles its abode in the large woods of
beech and oak in the dry or sandy districts ; Stanmer Park,
‘however, though on the chalk, is one of its favourite haunts.
It is particularly abundant in St. Leonard’s Forest, where
its loud sibilant note may be heard in all directions, keeping
up the while a constant shivering of its wings. It has also,
when the female is sitting, another note, resembling the
syllable ‘“‘chee” three or four times repeated. It lives
entirely on insects, occasionally capturing them on the wing.
It builds its nest on the ground, generally among drifts of

WOOD-WREN—WILLOW-WREN. 75

dead leaves, and under the shelter of a tuft of herbage or a
small bush. .Its nest is constructed of dry grass and moss,
with dead leaves, and lined with hair, feathers being never
used, and is generally artfully concealed, but easily dis-
covered when the female is sitting, by watching the male,
who is serenading her from a neighbouring tree, and after a
time descends in a somewhat parachute-like style, and either
feeds his spouse or takes her place upon the nest. This
being oval, domed, with an opening at the side, has in some
districts given this species the title of “Oven Bird.” It
has been shot as early as the lst of May, and departs in
September.

WILLOW-WREN.
Phylloscopus trochilus.

Tus is a regular spring visitant, arriving in little parties
sometimes as early as the second week in April, and now
and then continuing to do so till as late as the second week
in May. Immediately on its reaching the coast it proceeds
to the hedges and gardens, and is soon very abundant all
through the county, and its short, low, and somewhat mo-
notonous little song may be heard in every direction. It
feeds entirely on insects, especially on aphides, and is very
nseful and diligent in its search of them among our roses
and other cultivated plants. It does not frequent the large
timber woods, but prefers those in which the underwood is
thick and close. It places its nest on the ground, or on the
weedy and overgrown edge of a ditch, in some tuft of grass,
sheltered, in most cases, by a thick bramble or the coarse
herbage itself, constructing it of dry grass and moss, or

76 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

occasionally of dry fern. The main body leaves us in Sep-
tem ber, though in a few instances the bird has been known
to remain as late as December.

CHIFFCHAFYF.
Phylloscopus collybita.

In its habits, locality, and food this species is precisely
similar to the last, but in its mode of nesting there is a
slight difference, as this bird, though sometimes building on
the ground, more frequently places its nest in a low bush, or
on an ivy-covered stump or thick bush, or in a climbing rose
from eighteen inches to four or five feet from the ground.
It often collects a considerable mass of dead leaves and moss,
or white lichen, looking as if accidentally lodged there, and,
like the last-named species, always lines it well with feathers.
I am not aware that it has any other note than that from
which it derives its name.

GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN.
Regulus cristatus.

Tus little bird is resident, receiving considerable additions
from abroad, arriving for the most part upon the east coast
in the autumn. Some, however, it would appear, cross the
channel for the coast of Sussex, a number having been occa-
sionally taken in an exhausted state on board the Brighton
fishing-boats, as much as forty miles out at sea. Two, both
males, which were so taken came into my possession. I
once saw a very large number of these little birds which,

FIRE-CRESTED WREN. 77

after a heavy gale from the S.E., had been thrown ashore a
little east of Yarmouth, in Norfolk. ?

Were it not now well known that it crosses the sea it
would appear almost incredible, as in its usual haunts it
rarely flies more than a few yards. It is a confiding and
gentle little bird, frequenting our plantations, especially
where there are fir-trees, particularly the spruce, on the
underside of a branch of which it often suspends its nest.
It sometimes, however, makes use of a lichen-covered larch for
that purpose, as well as the juniper, Virginian cedar, spruce,
or yew. The nest is formed very neatly and compactly of
very fine moss, thoroughly worked together with spiders’
webs and wool, and lined with the finest hair and small
feathers. I once found one on the flat surface of a bough
of a cedar, sunk in between two of the lateral branches.

Its habits partake a good deal of those of the Willow-
Wren and the Tits, and it often accompanies these birds in
the winter in little parties as they flit through the under-
woods from bush to bush, or tree to tree. I suppose that
many of these little birds congregate towards the coast with
a view of again passing the sea, as they are certainly much
more abundant in the winter than in the summer months.

FIRE-CRESTED WREN.
Regulus ignicapillus.

Tus species appears in this country in small numbers and
at very irregular periods. I have never heard of its breeding
in the county, and I do not know of any instance of its
having been obtained later than April.

. Its habits and manners are very similar to those of the
Golden-crested Wren.

78 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

On November 5th, 1843, a specimen was brought to a
Brighton birdstuffer by a little girl, who said she had found
it dead in a garden close by; this was a very handsome male.
A female was caught alive in December 1846, in a shrubbery
at Lancing, with the lantern and bell.

Early in November 1852, a specimen was killed with a
stone near Worthing, and on the 10th of the same month in
1854, a male was found dead at Shoreham. These three
specimens are now in my possession.

In March 1854, Mr. Dennis informed me that a Fire-crest
had been brought to him which had flown into a window of
a cottage at Seaford. It was put into a cage, but was very
restless, and lived only a day.

In the ‘ Zoologist ? Mr. Ellman writes that he shot a Fire-
crest on the 30th of March, 1849, in the garden of Mr.
Honysett at Rye (p. 2418), and Mr. Potter records (on
p- 2766) that a friend of his, while walking under some fir-
trees overhanging a pond in the neighbourhood of Lewes,
caught one in his hand as it was running on a fence in the
manner of the Common Wren, January 30th, 1850.

In p. 8446 of the volume for 1863, a Fire-crested Wren is
recorded, which was captured on board a collier lying off
St. Leonards-on-Sea, on the 29th of December of that year.
This was about a mile from the shore. In p. 9468 of that
journal for 1865, one is stated to have been obtained near
Plumpton by Mr. Swaysland on the 24th of December in
the year before. In the volume of the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1869
(p. 1513) one is recorded, without date, as having been
obtained near Brighton, and in that for 1858 (p. 225) it is
stated that one was caught on the 4th of April while flutter-
ing against a window in North Street in that town; and on
the same page two more specimens are recorded as having
been killed near St. Leonards-on-Sea, and offered to Mr.
J. H. Gurney, who added one of them to his collection.

FIRE-CRESTED WREN.—WREN, 79

One is mentioned by My. Jeffery, in his private notes, as
having been obtained at Fishbourne on the 21st of October,
1863.

TROGLODYTIDZ.
WREN.

Troglodytes parvulus,

Tuis little bird, so often celebrated in our nursery-rhymes,
and in them so curiously associated with the Robin, may be
found in every part of the county, in the shrubbery, in the
fagot-stack, in the cow-house, and in all the outbuildings
of the garden or .the farmyard; and the fear of man seems
never to have been impressed on it. It may also be seen
among the furze of the South Downs, on the wildest heaths
of the open country, or in the closest hedgerows of the more
cultivated districts; in fact, wherever it is likely to find a
chrysalis or a ‘spider there is the Wren. Insects are uu-
doubtedly its principal food, but I have myself seen it pick-
ing off and eating red currants, and, when a boy, have often
caught it in brick traps baited with nothing but wheat, but
whether that was the object of its visit I cannot say. Con-
sidering the size of the performer, the loudness of its note
is perfectly astonishing, and I well remember being abso-
lutely startled by one of these birds suddenly bursting into
song as I was passing a fagot-stack at twelve o’clock on a
pitch-dark night, while I was walking with the patrol during
the agricultural riots of 1831, in the neighbourhood of
Chichester.

Few birds vary more in their choice of a place to build in;
but perhaps the aforesaid outhouses may be mentioned as

80 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

most frequently selected, where, in a hole in the inside of a
thatched roof, it forms a most conspicuous nest, externally
of green moss, and internally of feathers and fine hair. I
once found a nest near Henfield, against an ivy-covered oak,
the outside of which was entirely composed of the skele-
tonized leaves of Epimedium, but was lined as usual. As
this plant does not grow wild at all in the south of England,
and I have never seen it in a cottage-garden, the Wren
could nowhere have obtained the leaves but from my father’s
celebrated botanic garden, at least half a mile distant.

I have a drawing of a Wren’s nest which was built in a
bunch of old stirrups, which was hanging from a beam in a
blacksmith’s shop at Preston, near Brighton, and the birds
succeeded in bringing up their young, notwithstanding that
the hammers of the workmen were frequently passing within
a few inches of them. I think the persecution of the Wren,
in Sussex, is a thing of the past; but in my younger days
it was a regular institution to hunt it at Christmas time,
when numbers of boys, on both sides of the hedges, amused
themselves by beating the bushes and throwing at the Wren
whenever it showed itself, with knobbed sticks about eighteen
inches long, called “ libbets.”

Many authors have mentioned the habit this bird has of
beginning to build a number of nests which it never makes
use of, and of roosting in little companies in holes in thatch,
haystacks, and such situations. In severe weather I once
took nine of them from an old nest in the inside of the
thatch of a hovel. In some parts, especially in E. Sussex,
it is thought unlucky to touch the nest. Strange as it may
appear, the Wren has been occasionally found on the light-
houses around the coast ; though I am told that, compared
with other birds, the appearance of the Wren at “lights ” is
very rare.

TREE-CREEPER. 81

CERTHIIDZA.
TREE-CREEPER.
Certhia familiaris.

Tats is by no means an uncommon bird, though nowhere
numerous, and appears to be strongly attached to particular
localities, and is generally solitary or in pairs; it is never
found far from old timber, as that of the old orchard or the
woods. It is a lively little creature, in constant motion,
and spends most of its time in diligently searching for in-
sects in the cracks and crevices of the trees, among which
the old oak and Scotch fir appear to be its favourites. On
their trunks it climbs with a running jerking motion, chiefly
in an upward direction, and proceeding spirally from the
bottom of the tree to the top, in which it is greatly assisted
by its stiff tail-feathers. It never appears to descend the
tree, but on reaching the top flies rapidly to the bottom of
another, and proceeds again as before. From its activity in
climbing, it is generally known as the “ Tree-climmer.”

As the time of pairing approaches, it utters a rather loud
and very shrill little song, and chooses for its nest some
place where the bark has been rent from the body of the
tree, and is so left as to afford room for it between it and
the bark. It is generally composed of pieces of straw and
grass or fine sticks, and is lined with-any soft material. In
my own garden it has for several years placed its nest on
the side of an old chicken-house, between the boarding and
spruce-fir bark which had been nailed on but loosened by
the wind. Part of the wall of this building had been covered
with asphalted felt which had partially decayed, and of this
I saw the bird collecting the fibres and carrying them to its

G

82 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

nest, notwithstanding that they smelt very strongly and were so
black that I afterwards saw the seven eggs greatly discoloured
by them. Ina similar situation at the back of an old bee-
house was a nest, the outside of which was composed of the
dried flower-stalks of the Portugal laurel, and lined entirely
with the cotton-like substance of the catkin of the balsam
poplar.

At Henfield there was a nest in a very singular situation,
having been placed in a hole caused by the partial decay of
the post, and falling out of the mortar, by the side of the
principal door of a cottage where people were constantly
passing in and out. I was told that for several years this
place had been made use of by Tits, but that this was the
first instance of a Creeper taking possession, and that the
birds had all been protected by the occupiers of the cottage.

The Creeper is resident and very hardy, accompanying in
winter the parties of Tits in their excursions “through the
woods.

SITTIDZ.
NUTHATCH.

Sitta cesia.

A common inhabitant of woods and orchards wherever there
is large timber, where it breeds in holes, reducing the open-
ing when needful, to its own size, by plastering with clay.
It will take freely to boxes put up for the purpose. In
March 1871, I placed some rustic nest~boxes in trees near
my house. The next week two were taken possession of by
as many pairs of Nuthatches, and in June, or the beginning

NUTHATCH. 83

of July (I foolishly made no notes), on visiting one’ of the
boxes, I found only two young birds nearly ready to fly. I
took the box down, brought it into the house, and left it on
the hall-table with the doors shut, for about an hour. I had
not then seen or heard anything of the old birds.

I then started in my dogcart, with the box between my
feet to keep it steady, for Henfield, 43 miles distant. When
halfway there I saw a Nuthatch fly over the box close to my
knees, and it chirped to the young birds; but I did not
hear them answer, nor had I heard the young utter any note
at all. I delivered the box and birds to my sister, who put
them, box and all, into a cage under a verandah outside her
bedroom window. The next morning she saw an old Nut-
hatch feeding the young ones, and the day after there were
two old ones there, and these continued to visit the cage for
a week or two, sometimes in the verandah, sometimes in the
bedroom. The young birds became perfectly tame; but
some months afterwards (my sister being from home) one
was found dead, entangled between some wire and the bottom
of the cage. The gardener, thinking to please her, caught a
wild Nuthatch and put it into the cage, when it immediately
killed the remaining young one.

How the old birds found out that the young were in the
dogeart, after having been an hour shut up in my hall, has
always been a puzzle to me. I thought at first the rest of
the young had probably escaped up the tree, which was
covered with ivy; if so, it is still more strange that the old
birds should have followed the others 43 miles, and I think
it would be too much to suppose that the birds would main-
tain both portions of their family at so great a distance
apart.

In the month of September I had the pleasure of driving
my friend Mr. Harting to Henfield, and found that the old
birds still continued to feed the young, which were in a

G2

84 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

large cage hung in the verandah, We watched for some
time behind some shrubs, and saw both old birds bring food
to the young in the cage. This somewhat curious circum-
stance is recorded in ‘The Field’ of October 4th, 1878.
When in confinement the Nuthatch is rather given to
killing small birds if put into the same cage. It is also
most pertinacious in its attempts to escape.

When a boy I have more than once caught it in a brick-
trap and, when left too long, found that it had ground the
bill off about half itslength. It is always in motion, running
with equal facility in all directions, and is as much at home
on the under as on the upper surface of a bough, or climbing
upwards or downwards on the main stem. Its note is a
cheery, and remarkably clear whistle, extremely variable, and
often so powerful that it may be heard from a long distance.

It betakes itself in winter to the woods, and particularly to
those of the oak, in the crevices of the bark of which it
fixes the nut or seed which it wishes to crack, in the per-
formance of which operation, it appears to throw its whole
weight on its object, and on having extracted the kernel, it
often leaves the shell so firmly fixed that it remains for
months; and after having deliberately picked the kernel to
pieces, it flies off in search of some other tempting morsel,
such as the body of the common chafer, which is the
favourite food of the young. The nest is almost always
composed of dead leaves, particularly of the oak or beech, or,
where obtainable, the lamine of the inner bark of the Scotch
fir, among which the eggs may be often found scattered
about, so that on visiting it one would suppose that no eggs
had been laid; but a day or two before the bird begins to
sit on them, they are carefully placed together. Six eggs, or
seven, are the usual number for the first nest, though on a
few occasions I have found eight. In two instances I have
seen this bird entering and leaving a hole in a stone wall, in

NUTHATCH.—GREAT TITMOUSE. 85

which it evidently was making its nest. The Nuthatch is
the only bird I have ever seen attempt, and succeed in,
carrying away two grains of maize at once; of which, how-
ever, I do not see the advantage, as it invariably drops one
while picking the other to pieces. It is also very fond of
oats and fat, and I have watched it digging away at the
horseflesh which has been hung up for the dogs. It will
drive off any small bird which may attempt to share with it
either that, or anything which has been laid out to feed the
birds in winter. It is very amusing to watch its manoeuvres
should one hang out a tallow candle near a window. It is
particularly fond of peas and maize, but the kernels of nuts,
and the stones of the yew-berry, and acorns, as well as
insects, of which it is constantly in search, form its favourite

food.

PARIDA,
GREAT TITMOUSE.
Parus major.

Tuts species is very common in all the wooded parts of the
county. It is resident, and may be found in most of our
gardens and shrubberies. It feeds largely on insects, and is
also fond of flesh of any kind, as well as of various seeds,
which, it of any size, it holds with its foot on a branch and
picks to pieces, without fixing it in the manner of the Nut-
hatch. It is a powerful bird for its size, and will occasionally
kill other birds, and having done so, generally, in the first
place, picks out the brains*. It is particularly fond of the

* Perhaps only when in confinement,

86 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

seed of the sunflower, as well as of maize and oats, as are all
the true Paride which are found in this country.

Its note in spring is very variable, at one time resembling
the sharpening of a saw, while at another’it may be ex-
pressed by the three words “Set your beans,” with a stress
on the first word. It builds sometimes in a hole in the
ground or close to it, in a stub* of underwood, or a hole in
a tree or wall. I have frequently seen it in the cistern of
an unused pump, or in a flower-pot, in one of which, in a
very open place, seven young birds were found perfectly
dead from the heat of the sun. When building in such
situations, it covers the whole of the base with a mass of
hair, wool, worsted, &c. felted together, and generally forms
the nest in one corner away from the centre.

BLUE TITMOUSE.
Parus ceruleus.

Tue Blue Titmouse is the commonest of the genus, fre-
quenting all parts, except the open heights, or the marshy
levels. It is very familiar and very bold, though not par-
ticularly pugnacious. It will, however, hiss violently should
a finger. or stick be introduced into its nesting-place. If
handled, it bites with such ferocity that, among the bird-
nesting boys, it has obtained the elegant title of “ Billy
Biter.” Its nest is placed in similar. situations to that of
the Great Titmouse. There has been more than one in-
stance of its choosing a letter-box for this purpose. Mr.
Booth mentions that a pair had for several years made use:

* Stub signifies in Sussex an old stump, which has been often cut
down, from which many new shoots have arisen.

BLUE TITMOUSE.—COAL-TITMOUSE, 87

of ahole in a lamp-post in Montpellier Road, Brighton, and,
notwithstanding the constant traffic, brought off their young
in safety.

It is largely represented when a number of small birds are
making their excursions together through the woods in
winter. In the spring it picks to pieces the green fruit-

_buds, and is hated by the gardener, though probably it does
less damage than would have been done by the caterpillar
of which it is in search.

COAL-TITMOUSE.

Parus ater.

Tuovex this species is by no means rare in the Weald, it is
far less abundant than either of the preceding, and in my
own garden I have not very often seen it, yet in July 1889 a
nearly fully fledged young one was found dead in a box I had
placed in a tree ; and in the winter of the same year two of
these birds were eating the seeds of an Arbor vite close to
my dining-room window, and pecking at some bacon which
T had hung up in it. I have seen it busily feeding on the
seeds of the cornflower (Centaurea cyanus). It is very
partial to fir-trees, and is certainly more common on the
sand than on the clay. I have never met with it in the
thickest parts of the forest, though I have occasionally seen
it on the outer trees. In the neighbourhood of Chichester
it is rather common, as also on the sands, and old fir-trees
of Parham. The favourite place for its nest is in the de-
-serted hole of a mole, or a mouse, at the foot of a tree; but
it sometimes places it in a hole in the trunk of a tree at
some distance from the ground. At Henfield, a pair brought

88 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

up their young in a box over a verandah some fifteen feet in
height. Though insects are probably its principal food, J
have never seen or heard of its doing any mischief by
searching for them among fruit-buds. It feeds also on
various berries. Its note is difficult to describe and varies
considerably ; it is shriller than that of the other Titmice.
Moss, with short hair and wool, are felted together in the
structure of its nest. I have also found rabbit’s fur, and
sometimes, but not always, quantities of feathers, whence,
in common with the Long-tailed Tit, it is often called the
Featherpoke. It is, however, more generally known as the
Ground Tit. Mr. Jeffery mentions a nest at the bottom of
a post nearly two feet below the surface.

MARSH-TITMOUSE.
Parus palustris.

Way this species has been thus named I cannot tell, as it
does not by any means, if at all, affect marshy places; and
although it is somewhat partial to the willow when in cat-
kin, and therefore attracting numerous insects, I find that
it frequents those species of Salix which grow on land which
is high and dry, quite as much as those by the river-side.
On the high ground in my own neighbourhood it is far
commoner than the Coal-Titmouse, and nearly as often met
with as its blue relative. Its food is the same as that of the
preceding species ; and it is very tame, as I can state from
my own observation, having often watched it picking to
pieces an oat, or a grain of maize, within a few feet of me.
[t is not so usual a tenant of my boxes as the Great and the
Blue Titmouse, nesting among the thick stems of the under-

MARSH-TITMOUSE.—LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE,. 89

wood close to the ground, or in holes in stumps but little
above it, in which it places a neatly built nest on chips of
wood, composed of hair and fur, and generally lined with
down of the willow, or the catkin of the balsam poplar.

It has a lively note in the spring, but its commonest call
is well expressed in Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ (vol. i. p. 496)
by the syllables “ peh! peh!”’ quickly repeated,

LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE.
Acredula caudata.

FREQUENTING principally the woods, copses, and rough hedge-

rows in the enclosed portions of the county, this species is
not uncommonly met with, though it does not often visit
our shrubberies and gardens, except in the breeding-season.
During the rest of the year it roams about in little parties
of ten or a dozen, flitting through the underwoods, and
perching on them, in every possible position, as often as not
head downwards, and uttering a constant chirping note as
if to keep the litile band together, meantime progressing
steadily through the woods and copses, searching for insects,
which seem to be its only food.

Its well known and very remarkable nest is generally
placed in a thick bush, and is composed externally of lichens
firmly woven into a compact mass with spiders’ webs, most
artfully blended with the colour of its surroundings, and
lined with a great profusion of feathers. It is, however,
not unfrequently built at the divarication of two nearly
parallel lichen-covered stems of a tree, and sometimes as
high as twenty or thirty feet from the ground, and so con-
cealed that it is hardly likely to be discovered unless the

90 : THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

bird betrays it on returning to or leaving the nest. It

occasionally lays as many as fifteen or even twenty eggs.
The male and female both roost in the nest. Its little

parties generally keep to themselves through the summer,

but in winter it often associates with the other insect-feeding
birds.

PANURIDA.
BEARDED TITMOUSE.

Panurus biarmicus.

-Tuis species is entirely confined to reedy and marshy places.
In his ‘ Ornithological Dictionary,’ published in 1802,
Montagu writes that he had met with a party of five,
doubtless a brood of the year, near Winchelsea, among the
reeds close to the sea-shore. One of them, which he pro-
cured, was in its nestling feathers, but though he took pains
to find the nest he was unsuccessful. I have received it
from Amberley ; and in September 1844 I saw two females
which, as well as several others of both sexes, had been shot
there, and it has since been found breeding there. It is,
however, much less common than it formerly was, in con-
sequence of the very large tract of marsh, known as the
Wildbrook, having been drained. It also bred in some reedy
ditches near Lancing until disturbed by the railway.

Mr. Knox mentions a pair obtained near Amberley, and
another pair at Fishbourne, near Chichester, but gives no
date. Mr. Jeffery states that it is not now to be found
there, the reeds being also gone.

WAXWING. 91

AMPELIDA.
WAXWING.
Ampelis garrulus.

A Rake visitant, chiefly in severe winters. On January 12th,
1850, a beautiful male was shot in West Grinstead Park,
and brought to Sir W. W. Burrell; another was shot in a
brickfield near Horsham, apparently a female or immature
bird. I have one in my own collection which was shot near
Hastings.

Mr. Dennis, writing to me on July 4th, 1850, mentions
that one was seen at Denton during last January, feeding on
the berries of a Pyracanthus roughly trained against a house,
and that he was informed that one had been shot near New-
haven, while feeding on a similar shrub in a cottage garden ;
that he saw one at Lewes, which was killed at Tarring
Neville, and two more obtained near Hailsham. I have also
seen two which were shot in Ashburnham Park, and one at
Albourne; all three in 1844.

Mr. Knox mentious two which were shot in a garden at
Newtimber, feeding on hawthorn berries, that one was killed
at Beeding, and another near Shoreham. In the ‘ Zoologist’
(p. 2768) a specimen, shot at Piddinghoe, is recorded by
Mr. Ellman. There appears to have been a considerable
incursion of these birds throughout England in that year,
1850 (op. cit. p. 6605).

Both nest and eggs were wholly unknown, until, in June
1856, they were discovered by one Ludwig Matthias Knob-
lock, Mr. Wolley’s most trusted follower, at Sadio, on the
Kittila River, in Kemi Lapmark (see Yarrell’s ‘ British
Birds,’ vol. i. p. 529).

92 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

MOTACILLIDA.
PIED WAGTAIL.

Motacilla lugubris.

Enormovs numbers of this species make their appearance
on the coast throughout the whole of March, and smaller
parties continue to arrive till the middle of April. In March
I have seen the beach, between Brighton and Shoreham,
covered with them in the early mornings, though a few
hours after, very few, or none, will be met with, as they pro-
ceed at once to their inland quarters, where they become
common throughout the county, and form one of the most
sprightly and elegant ornaments of our lawns, gardens, and
fields, where the new arrivals are readily distinguished from
those which have remained with us during the winter, by the
purity and brightness of their plumage. This Wagtail, soon
after dispersing through the county, begins to build its nest,
choosing some place in the neighbourhood of buildings, such
as the thatch of a haystack, a hole in an ornamental stump
in a garden, or in a wall or bank, or perhaps placing it on
the larger ends of sticks in a fagot-stack, and constructs it
of moss and fine roots, lining it with hair.

After it has reared its young, it betakes itself with them
to the meadows, especially delighting in those which have
been recently flooded, where no doubt it finds abundance of
its insect food and small freshwater mollusks. In such
places, I think J may say that I have seen them in hundreds,
and at this period the young have the part of the forehead
and cheeks which, in mature specimens, is white, of a deli-

cate lemon-yellow. Allthe Wagtails either walk or run, and
do not hop.

PIED WAGTAIL._WHITE WAGTAIL. 93

In August and September its numbers on the coast greatly
increase by the arrival of flocks, while by the end of October
the greater part of them have crossed the sea. The birds
which remain during the winter flock together, often follow-
ing the plough, or seeking their food in the sheep-fold,
especially where the turnips have been half eaten and left
in the ground, probably finding in their substance the larvze
of some insect or other. The flight of this bird is very un-
dulating, and it keeps up a constant dissyllabic note, whether
alone or in companies, while on the wing. It is commonly
known in Sussex by the name of “ Dishwasher.”

WHITE WAGTAIL.
Motacilla alba.

Tus species occurs on the coast as regularly as the Pied
Wagtail, but I can find no earlier mention of it in Sussex,
than a note of my own (‘ Zoologist,’ p. 3908) for April 21st,
1858, on which day I carefully examined five specimens,
four of which, one being a female, had been shot between
Shoreham and Worthing, and the fifth at Hove, all in the
possession of Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton. The female con-
tained eggs not larger than a pin’s head. I exhibited these
birds at the Anniversary Meeting of the Linnean Society,
May 24th, 1853. April 6th, 1854, a male and female were
shot at Hove, near Brighton, close to some ploughed land,
though they are said not. to follow the plough like M. lugu-
bris, which led the editor of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds ” (vol. i.
p. 550) to suggest that the food of this species may be dif-
ferent. Mr. Swaysland informed me that they were wilder,
and hada hoarser note. The male had a singular malforma-
tion, there being on one foot two perfectly formed hind toes.

94 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

On the 8th of the same month Mr. Pratt brought me a
female, and on examination we found that the eggs were
only just formed, whereas in M. lugubris they were larger
than peas, so that it is probably a late breeder.

On further knowledge of this species, I conclude that it is
seldom or never found on the north side of the Downs,
though it frequents the coast from east to west. In its
general habits, as far as known, it seems to resemble the
common Pied species. I am not aware that it has ever
nested in the county. Mr. Booth remarks, in his ‘Rough
Notes,’ vol. i. :—I have never met with the White Wag-
tail during the winter, and, according to my own observa-
tions, those that visit the British Islands in the spring are
considerably later in making their appearance on our shores
than the Pied Wagtails that pass the winter on the continent.
I cannot record a single instance where this species has been
observed before the second week in April. During fine
weather at that period these birds may commonly be noticed
in Sussex, within a short distance of the sea-coast. Asa
rule they appear to be making their way from West to East,
and seldom remain in the locality for any length of time.
I have watched them seeking for food along the banks round
brackish pools, as well as on the muds of Shoreham harbour.
A few were also occasionally remarked frequenting the salt-
marshes between Lancing and Worthing. Further east I
found a single specimen feeding along the muddy shores of
a dyke in the level near St. Leonards-on-Sea, in the first
week in May. When disturbed the bird took a short flight,
but after alighting two or three times on the floating weed
and searching closely over the surface, it rose in the air and
made a straight course along the shore towards the east.
The water in the dyke was partly salt, and the tangled

weed that grew in profusion contained a number of minute
shells.”

GREY WAGTAIL. 95

GREY WAGTAIL.
Motacilla sulphurea.

Tuis is an autumn and winter visitant to this county, dis-
appearing about the middle of March, very few remain-
ing to breed, the greater number leaving in April, when it
is assuming its breeding-plumage, and passing to the north
or west, returning late in August or early in September,
generally in little family parties, when the main body cross
the sea, though a few remain during the winter. From its
partiality to rapid, clear, and rocky streams, Sussex is little
adapted to its habits. It delights in wild secluded spots,
and never frequents ploughed or grass lands unless they are
water-meadows.

As it cannot: be called a common bird, I think it worth
while to mention the few specimens which have fallen under
my own observation. The first notice I have is, that from
the 11th of November, 1840, one frequented my father’s
garden at Henfield for a few days, running about the lawn
in pursuit of insects, jumping up at them and takiug them
on the wing, in the manner of the Pied Wagtail. Ou the
8th of May, 1841, I saw two which had been shot near Firle
in nearly full summer plumage, and two others obtained in
the same neighbourhood about the same time. In March
1844 one appeared for a few days, at a spring in a tanyard
at Henfield. On the 10th of March in the same year I saw,
at a birdstuffer’s at Lewes, two more which had been shot
on the level near that town, also in the same plumage. In
May 1845, I observed a male in full breeding-dress, at a little
runlet of water by the roadside at Ashington. On two or
three occasions a single bird has appeared at my own house
at Cowfold, running about on a flat-roofed verandah, and

96 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

jumping at the flies crawling on the inner side of the window
panes. The note is rather loud and harsh, but cheerful.

The Grey Wagtail generally places its nest in a hole in
the bank of a rocky stream, or a wall, or perhaps in a heap
of stones, and it is very similar to that of the Pied Wagtail.

Mr. Booth, in his ‘Rough Notes,’ remarks that in the
autumn, winter, and early spring a few remain in the neigh-
bourhood of Brighton, resorting to open drains or pools, and
in some instances visiting the gardens adjoining the town.
Mr. Jeffery, in his P. N., states that he found a nest on the
Ist of June, 1867, with the young nearly ready to fly, at
Burton, near Petworth.

BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL.
Motacilla flava.

Tus species is a spring visitant, and by no means abundant.
In my own collection I have a female shot by Mr. Ellman,
May 5th, 1851, between Eastbourne and Pevensey, and a
male, shot at Hove, April 18th, 1866, as well as a female
obtained about the same time near Eastbourne. In 1859
I saw, at Mr. Pratt’s, two male specimens which had been
shot on the 25th and 27th of April respectively at Hove.
The Blue-headed Wagtail is said to nest on the ground in
corn-fields and meadows. Mr. Booth says that the bird may
be met with every spring, along the coast of Sussex ; that
he is well acquainted with certain spots about a mile from
the sea-coast, between Brighton and Shoreham, where a pair
or two may be found at almost any time during May; and
that he has little doubt that it breeds not uncommonly
within a few miles of Brighton. He observes that he has

BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL—YELLOW WAGTAIL. 97

frequently noticed males in the vicinity of two or three of
the sheep-ponds scattered over the Downs, at seasons when
it was most probable that the female was sitting close at
hand, and he figures a male and female obtained near
Brighton in April 1874. In the ‘Zoologist’ (p. 6606) Mr.
Wilson mentions a beautiful male taken near Worthing in
April 1855 ; and a fine adult male shot near Brighton, by Mr,
Pratt, is recorded (p. 7709) under date April 1861, while
another (p. 263, s.s.) is noted, caught in a net in April
1871, and taken to him. Again, in April 1888 one was taken
alive on the Downs (vol. for 1888, p. 226).

YELLOW WAGTAIL.
Motacilla raii.

Tus Wagtail, like the last species, arrives on our coast in
April, and though a few breed with us, the main body, after
remaining a very short time, leave the county for that pur-
pose, and reappear late in July or early in August.

In a record of my own, from 1840 to 1876, and in another,
kindly lent me by Mr. Jeffery, from 1860 to 1888, the earliest
notice of its appearance is April 7th, and the first mention
of its return is July 6th. It then remains with us till Sep-
tember, during which month it leaves this country altogether
for the winter. On its first arrival it spreads over the
ploughed land and meadows, sometimes in considerable
flocks, but it is rarely seen more than a few miles from the
coast.

It is partial to the sheep-folds on the Downs, and accom-
panies cattle in the fields, for the sake of the insects they
disturb while feeding on the grass.

H

98 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

The nest may occasionally be found by the side of a ditch,
or in a tuft of rushes on the levels, but more frequently in
the corn-fields, where it places it in an open furrow, or any
little depression in the ground, and the few I have seen have
been constructed of dead grass and smallroots. It is stated,
however, in Yarrell’s ‘British Birds’ (vol. i. p. 565) that
Mr. Hewitson mentions a nest composed of green moss and
grass, lined with rabbits’ fur. In the autumn, it greatly
frequents the open grass-fields. I have, at this season, often
seen, in the Henfield levels, very large flocks of mingled old
and young, busily engaged in picking up their food in the
large drifts of débris left on the subsidence of a flood. I
have found in their interior considerable quantities of small
freshwater and land shells, of which such a locality affords
a large supply. I have no recollection of ever having heard
this Wagtail sing, but, respecting its note, jt is stated in
Yarrell’s ‘British Birds’ (vol. i. p. 566): The call of this
bird is more shrill than that of the Pied Wagtail, but less
so than that of the Grey species, and consists of two notes
repeated in succession, the second of which, in its musical
scale, is a whole note lower than the first. The song of the
cock is lively, but short, and not often uttered.”

The earliest plumage of this bird is totally different from
that of the adult, and is admirably represented by Mr. Booth
in his ‘ Rough Notes.’

In Sussex it is generally known as the “ Barley-Bird,”’
probably because it arrives about the time of the spring
sowing of that grain.

TREE-PIPIT, 99

TREE-PIPTT.
Anthus trivialis.

Tuis species visits us regularly early in April, many staying
to breed with us. though still larger numbers pass on into
other counties, reappearing in little parties in August, and
departing for the continent in September. It spreads itself
in pairs over the wooded and enclosed districts where there
are trees.

Its song is strong, lively, and well sustained, and is mostly
uttered while rising from the highest point of a bush or tree
some thirty or forty feet in the air; after hovering for‘a few
moments it continues to sing as it descends with quivering
wings and outspread tail to the spot from which it had origi-
nally started. Though most authors state that it ‘breeds on
the ground, by far the greater number of the many nests I
have known have been placed in thick bushes, generally
brambles, some three or four feet from it. The nest is com-
posed of green moss and dead grass, and lined with hair.

Its eggs vary in colour to a very remarkable extent, some
being very similar to those of the Blackcap, others of a dark
purple with still darker veins and streaks, and I have more
than once found them of a plain blood-red unmixed with
streaks, spots, or blotches. It is very seldom seen on the
ground, and I am not aware of any country name for it, but
the bird-fanciers call it the “ Singing Titlark.”

H2

100 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

MEADOW-PIPIT.
Anthus pratensis.

Tue Meadow-Pipit remains with us all the year round, though
great additions arrive in April, and it may then be met with
in all unenclosed parts of the county, frequenting as well the
Downs, the dry open heaths and commons, as the marshy
meadows of the levels bordering our rivers. After spreading
through the country in suitable spots, generally in pairs, it
reappears in large flocks on the coast in August, and by the
end of September most of them have departed for the winter.
It builds on the ground, sometimes among the corn, a foot
or two within the edge of a corn-field, in a furrow, or any
little depression on the surface, often on the open down or
common, placing it under the shelter of a tuft of grass or
other herbage. The nest is composed of coarse and fine
grass, lined with hair and fibrous roots. The Cuckoo is very
partial to it for the nursery of its tyrannical bantling. It is
generally known as the Titlark. A very long and interesting
account of the migration of the Meadow-Pipit may be found
in Mr. Booth’s ‘ Rough Notes.’
There is a very small variety of the Meadow-Pipit, if in-
deed it be not another species, found in various places in the
county. I have myself particularly observed it on the ex-
tensive tract of old sea-beach between the harbour and the
sea at Shoreham, and from that very place a clutch of four
eggs, on which the bird was sitting, though they were not
incubated, was taken by Mr. Gorham, the Rector of Shipley,
on May 17th, 1880. Three of these he kindly gave to me;
they were all four similar in colour and size; the measure-
ments of my three were }3 by #5 of aninch. Now the average

MEADOW-PIPIT._RED-THROATED PIPIT. 101

dimensions of adozen of the ordinary Meadow-Pipits’ are 14
by +2. Inever remember finding a whole clutch of the eggs
of any other bird in which al/ were of an abnormal size.

I went to the spot a few days after to see what were the
materials of the nest, but it had been pulled out and blown
away by the wind. If it be dwarf, it is the only wild bird I
have ever met with in that state.

In the ‘ Zoologist, p. 1561 (s.s.) is the following notice
by Mr. Wonfor :—“ A very minute specimen, in perfect
plumage, was obtained on November 9th near Cliftonville,
Brighton, and was taken to Swaysland. From its size and
general appearance, thinking it a new species, he sent it to
Mr. Sclater, who pronounced it a dwarf. It measures five
inches and one eighth from beak to tail.”

The ordinary note of the Meadow-Pipit is “ Tit, tit, tit,’
uttered while flitting from place to place. During the breed-
ing season it has a pleasant song, low and soft, which it
utters on the wing, rising some thirty feet in the air, and
descending, with quivering wings and tail fully spread, to the
ground.

RED-THROATED PIPIT.
Anthus cervinus.

Tus beautiful species, which had, for a long while, been con-
founded with the preceding, was included as a “ British Bird”
by Mr. Harting and Mr. Gould on evidence that to many
ornithologists seemed inconclusive, though they fully ad-
mitted that it was one which, sooner or later, was likely to
appear in Britain. The first example about which no doubt
could exist was brought to Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton, on
March 18th, 1884, and on the next day was seen in the flesh

102 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

by Mr. J. H. Gurney, Jun., who recorded the fact in the
‘Zoologist ’ of that year (p. 192). “The specimen was after-
wards submitted to Mr. R. B. Sharpe, who exhibited it at
the meeting of the Zoological Society of London on April 1st
(Proc. Zool. Soc. 1884, p. 206). It was caught near Brighton,
and is pow in the collection of Mr. Monk, of Lewes.

A long account of the habits of this species, as ob-
served on the shores of the Varanger Fjord in North-
eastern Norway, by the late Mr. Wolley and Professor New-
ton, in the summer of 1855, will be found in Bree’s
‘ Birds of Europe,’ whence it has been reproduced in Mr.
Dresser’s well-known work. This species breeds in a some-
what restricted area in the extreme North of Europe, and
thence to the eastward across Asia. In winter it is found on
the shores of the Mediterranean, and especially in Egypt.
The nest, which is placed on the ground among coarse herb-
age, is described as being simply built of dry bents without
any lining of feathers or hair.

WATER-PIPIT.

Anthus spipoletta.

Tue first notice of this species being taken in Sussex is that
of Mr. John Pratt, of Brighton, who, in the ‘Zoologist’
(pp. 9279-80), states that in 1864.an example had been killed
near Worthing, and another on the beach at Brighton, and
that these two specimens were determined by Mr. Gould to
be Anthus spipoletta of continental authors. They are also
recorded in the ‘ Ibis’ for 1865 (p..114), That obtained at
Brighton passed into the collection of the late Bishop Wil-
berforce, and Mr. Boynton, of. Ulrome Grange, in Yorkshire,
purchased.the other, and submitted it. to the inspection of

WATER-PIPIT, -ROCK-PIPIT. 103

Professor Newton. I have a specimen in my own collection
which was obtained in August 1868, and another in March
1869, both shot at Shoreham.

The most prominent distinction between this and the Rock-
Pipit is that the outer tail-feather has the outer web and the
distal part of the inner web on each side white, as is also the
chin. All those which have been met with have occurred in
early spring, and been found around the little pools which
have been left by the tide. Mr. Rowley states “‘ that all have
taken their departure by the first week in April, and that
they return again in August,” which rather tends to the con-
clusion that they retire inland to breed. I have, however,
never heard of the nest being met with in England.

ROCK-PIPIT.

Anthus obscurus.

Tue Rock-Pipit is a permanent resident, though it receives a
great addition to its numbers in the spring. It is for the”
greater part of the year entirely confined to the coast, and
especially to the rocky parts of it, where it may constantly be
seen flitting from rock to rock, or searching for small crus-
taceans and insects among the seaweed on the beach, and
occasionally wading in the shallow water. It may, however,
be frequently met with on the muddy flats and shores. In
the breeding season the call-note and song are very like those
of the Meadow-Pipit, but somewhat harsher. At that time
of the year it sings on the wing and with similar actions, and
is confined to the cliffs, where it builds in the crevices or
little hollows between the rocks or behind a tuft of the sea-
pink or other herbage, constructing its nest of dry grass and
seaweed, with which it is generally lined, with the addition

104 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

perhaps of a little hair. I once found a very singular nest
of this bird near Eastbourne. It was entirely composed ex-
ternally of fine seaweed mixed with the dried egg-capsules of
the common whelk, and lined with hair. Mr. Jeffery states
(Zoologist, p. 1034) that he shot two Rock-Pipits on a
small island in Chichester Harbour, and was surprised to
find in the stomach of both bones and other remnants of small
fishes. It often happens that small gobies and other fish
are left by the receding tide to die and dry up, and in this
case they would become an easy prey to the Pipits, otherwise
- it is difficult to imagine in what way their capture could be
effected by these small birds. In addition to these fishy
remains were small seeds of several kinds.

Mr. Booth states, in his ‘Rough Notes,’ that he has occa-
sionally observed a few of these Pipits along the flat portions
of the Sussex coast from Pagham to Brighton, The muddy
pools of brackish water inside of the shingle banks are their
favourite haunts. The chalk cliffs between Brighton and
Eastbourne, and the neighbourhood of Fairlight and Hastings,
are resorted to during the breeding season. Pevensey and
Winchelsea levels are visited about the same time, and those
of the flat districts to the west of Brighton, where they feed
only by those pools which are impregnated with salt. The
ten specimens mentioned in the ‘ Zoologist,’ p. 792, s.s., as
having been taken near Brighton between the 16th and 20th
of March, 1869, and at first mistaken for Anthus spipoletia,
proved, on further investigation, to be the Scandinavian form
of the Rock-Pipit.

TAWNY PIPIT. 105

TAWNY PIPIT.

Anthus campestris.

Tus Pipit was first noticed as British by Mr. Rowley, and
is a rare straggler to this county, where, curiously enough,
almost all the recorded specimens have been met with in the
neighbourhood of Brighton. The first was taken at Shore-
ham Harbour on the 15th of August, 1858, and was in the
collection of the late Mr. Collins, of Aldmouth, until 1862,
when another Pipit having been shot at Rottingdean on the
24th of September, Mr. Rowley, on careful examination of
it in the flesh, discovered that both this and the former were
Anthus campestris, and records them in the ‘ Ibis’ for 1863.
I have in my own collection three specimens, all taken near
Brighton. Mr. J. H. Gurney, Jun., tells me that his father
had one which was shot at Rottingdean October 8rd, 1886,
in very immature plumage.

Referring to the ‘ Zoologist,’ we find (p. 9327) a male
taken in a clap-net near Brighton, September 30th, 1864,
which was seen alive by Mr. Rowley, and passed into the
collection of Mr. Monk. At p. 1918, s.s., two more are
mentioned by Mr. Wonfor as shot at Rottingdean, Septem-
ber 6th, 1869. Another immature bird is mentioned by Mr.
Rowley, obtained near Rottingdean September 29th, 1870
(p. 2383), also in the possession of Mr. Monk. And in
October 1873 again another male example was killed near
Brighton (p. 3832), which was purchased by Sir John Crewe.
At p. 4456, s. s., Mr. Clark Kennedy mentions that one was
caught in aclap-net at Eastbourne, November 8th, 1874; and
at p. 4694, s.s., MrySwaysland records the purchase of a
young male, taken in the same way, at the east end of
Brighton. At p. 299, volume for 1877, Mr. Bond states

106 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

that he had a Tawny Pipit which had been taken in October
1875, a young bird, as shown by the lightness of its feathers.
According to p. 842, s.s., 1877, another immature specimen
was shot at Brighton on the 29th of September, and taken to
Mr. Pratt. Three were caught on the Downs north-east of
Brighton, in October 1886 (p. 490)*. On August 25th, 1887,
a male was taken in a net close to the Ditchling Road,
Brighton (p. 492).

As to its habits as a Sussex bird, nothing has been re-
corded. According to authors they are, on the continent,
much the same as those of the other Pipits, as is also the
manner of its nesting, but it shows a preference for dry
and especially sandy places.

RICHARD’S PIPIT. -

Anthus richardi.

An irregular spring and autumn visitant to the coast and
neighbouring Downs, almost all those which have occurred
having been taken near Brighton.

I have in my own collection one in summer plumage,
taken on March 17th, 1869, on Clayton Hill, and two others
also obtained near Brighton, but I cannot now give the
dates.

The earliest mention of its appearance in the county is
that of Mr. Rowley, who recorded it in the ‘ Zoologist,’
p- 9466, and says that he received a living specimen from
Mr. Swaysland on January 20th, 1865. It had been taken
in a clap-net at a place called Toad’s Holc, on the Downs,
near Hangleton, Portslade, about 14 mile from the sea. The

* Ono of these was probably Mr. Gurney’s specimen.

RICHARD’S PIPIT.—SHORE-LARK. 107

man who’ caught it said that he was struck by its loud
note, and drove it about nearly two days before he could
get it into the net, in which there was nothing to attract
it. In 1867 Mr. Monk obtained a specimen, taken near
Brighton, October 9th (Zoologist, p. 1017); and in the
volume for 1868 (p. 1478,s.s.) Mr. Rowley states that one
was taken near Brighton October 5th, and that it was moult-
ing all over, the tail being only half-grown, and remarks that
it was very late, all the other Pipits moulting in August.

Mr. Wonfor, in the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1869 (p. 1513, s.s.),
states that four specimens had been shot within the last
month (November), and in 1870, at p. 1984 of the same
journal, Mr. Bond, giving a list of rare birds he had seen at
Mr. Pratt’s, states thus :—“ I have seen in all eleven speci-
mens of the Richard’s Pipit, the first taken in the first week
in September, and the last on the 6th of December of the
present year.”

ALAUDIDE,
SHORE-LARK.

Otocorys alpestris.

Since the first British specimen obtained at Sherringham,
in Norfolk, in 1830, the Shore-Lark has been found, some-
times in large flocks, on various parts of the coast, extending
as far westward as Weymouth, where, about the 20th of
November 1869, I saw eleven in the flesh, which had been
shot on Lodswell Marsh, of which seven were females. The
notices of the occurrences of this bird in Sussex are not,
however, very numerous. I have a specimen in my own
collection, killed in March 1870, at Rottingdean. In Yar-

108 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

rell’s ‘ British Birds’ (vol. i. p. 606) it is stated that three
out of a flock of five were captured alive near Brighton in
November 1861. Mr. Booth, in his ‘Rough Notes,’ makes
the following remarks :—‘‘ During severe weather in Sussex,
_ I often remarked a fresh-captured bird or two of this
species in the store cages of the professional bird-catchers,
when meeting with them along the Downs near the coast.
But one small flock of three or four individuals has (with
the exception of the above-mentioned captives) come under
my notice in this county; these birds were on the shingle-
banks, between Shoreham and Lancing.” The following
occurrences are taken from the ‘ Zoologist’:—On March
the 1st 1870, “ a fine specimen of the Shore-Lark was taken,
at night, in a lark-net, on the Hodden Farm, near New-
haven.—T. 8. Monk” (p. 2140). Mr. Rowley remarks
(p. 2407) that two specimens were obtained near Brighton
on the 2nd of November, 1870. Mr. Aplin states (p. 350),
1885—“In April last I received a male Shore-Lark, in the
flesh, which was shot on the 22nd on the coast, near Hastings.
Its stomach contained numerous small white worms, and a
small coleopterous larva, also a quantity of grit.” The Shore-
Lark frequents the beach, and the neighbouring stubbles,
or the open bushy lands near the sea, in little flocks. Its
manuers and flight much resemble those of the Sky-Lark. It
has never been known to breed in this country, nor nearer
than the high mountain-pastures of Scandinavia, whence no
doubt come the birds which visit us in winter. But it is also

common in many parts of America, and I have eggs from
Labrador.

SK Y-LARK. 109

SKY-LARK.
Alauda arvensis.

Tus, by pre-eminence the Lark, is generally diffused over
the open country, but avoids the woods. It isa resident, but,
except in the breeding season, very much on the move, and
often gathers in enormous flocks, especially in hard winter,
when it migrates from place to place, according to the
weather. Its line of migration is most frequently from East
to West. Immense multitudes cross the sea, and numbers
are frequently found to strike the lanterns of the lighthouses.
I have often seen them in the neighbourhood of the coast
passing over, and flying very swiftly for hours together.

The delightful song has been the theme of the poets of all
ages, and is far more cheerful from the celestial height, than
that of the equally celebrated Nightingale from its legendary
thorn. It feeds on seeds of weeds and the corn which it finds
scattered after harvest, as well as on insects, and in hard
weather often frequents the sheep-folds, probably finding
larve among the decaying roots of the turnips. It is found
still more abundantly on the open stubbles, where it roosts,
when many hundreds, I may say thousands, are taken in
nets, and sold to the poulterers. Enormous numbers are
annually taken by the call-bird and clap-net, besides those
that are shot as they hover—an easy mark for the gun—over
an instrument of wood, into which are fixed bits of looking-
glass, and, by a string properly adjusted, made to spin round
rapidly, this device proving a never-failing and fatal attrac-
tion to the birds.

The nest is generally placed on the ground in an open
meadow, or corn-field, in any slight depression, and very
commonly in a round hole in the turf, formed by the bird
itself, and is composed of grass, and lined with fine roots

110 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

and hair. It is said to remove its young, or its eggs, if dis-
turbed. Mr. Blyth (Nat. 1837, p. 102) describes a case of
which he was told, wherein the upper part of a Sky-Lark’s
nest had been shaved off by the scythe, and the surround-
ing grass levelled by the mowers, without the female, which
was sitting on her young, flying away. She was found about
an hour afterwards to have constructed a dome of dry grass
over the nest during the interval. The eggs are not subject
to much variation, but a few years ago I found a ncst in the
vicarage meadow at Cowfold, in which all the five eggs were
pure white, and perfectly fresh and good.

Although I have not hitherto made any remarks on
varieties, I may say that in February 1890, I was shown by
Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, a Sky-Lark in such remarkable
plumage that I think it is worthy of mention. The whole
of the head and the upper part of the body are black, with
the edges of the feathers almost imperceptibly tinged with
brown. The under parts of the body, and the axillary
plumes, the scapulars, and about half an inch of the second-
aries, as also the tips of the primaries, and the final half of
the tail, are black. The middle of the secondaries, forming
a distinct bar across the wings, and about half the primaries,
are white, the latter being slightly pencilled with black on
the upper surface, while on the under side they are pure
white. This specimen was originally, when first caged, an
ordinary Sky-Lark, and assumed this plumage.

WOOD-LARK.
Alauda arborea.

Tue Wood-Lark is a resident, but very local, and by no
means common. When it occurs at all it is on the edges

WOOD-LARK.—CRESTED LARK. 111

of those woods which are well furnished with timber, being
seldom or never found far from the outside. It is a beauti-
ful songster, and utters its delightfully liquid, flute-like
notes in the evenings of spring, summer, and autumn,
generally while suspended in the air at a very considerable
height, and sometimes continuing it intermittently for an
hour together. Some time ago, this bird might be heard
from my lawn at Cowfold every fairly warm evening, trill-
ing its lovely notes, often far into the night; but I have not
heard it for many years, nor met with it, in my own neigh-
bourhood. In fact, the last time I saw it at all in Sussex
was when shooting in the parish of Cowfold in January 1881.
I was surprised to find it in little flocks of twenty or thirty,
in the stubble-fields, just before a heavy snow, which covered
the ground deeply for many days, They seem to have
migrated in a body, and I have never seen or heard of one
in the neighbourhood since. At this time they assembled
together all along the coast, wherever the ground was free
from snow, aud many dozens fell victims to the bird-catchers.
Except on such occasions, they are found in pairs, and never
in large numbers in any one district. It chooses a grassy
spot, on the outside of a wood or copse, for its nest, con-
structing it of dry grass, mixed with a little moss, and lining
it also with fine grass, without hair or feathers. Although it
takes a few small seeds, insects form its principal food, and
it is very partial to grasshoppers.

CRESTED LARK.
Alauda cristata.

Axrnovucn this species is not uncommon in Normandy and
in some parts of Holland, its occurrences in England have

112 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX,

been few and far between. Its first appearance in Sussex is
that of an example in the late Mr. Bond’s collection, which
was procured at Littlehampton, and from which the figure
in Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ was taken; it is now in the
possession of Mr, Whitaker, of Rainworth Lodge, Notts.
Another was procured near Shoreham, by a bird-catcher, on
the 20th of October, 1863, and seen alive the same day by
Mr. Rowley, as is recorded in the ‘ Ibis,’ 1864, p.224. This
example is now in the collection of Mr. Monk. Besides
these, I have in my own collection another specimen, which
was captured by a bird-catcher at Portslade, near Brighton,
October 10th, 1881, and taken to Mr. Pratt’s shop in that
town; this proved on dissection to be an adult male. I
recorded it in the ‘ Zoologist,’ p. 494, for 1881. Itisa more
familiar bird than the Sky-Lark, frequenting in its own
country the roads, and even making its appearance among
the houses of the villages, often perching on the walls. The
cock has a soft and pleasant song, generally given on the
wing, and the hen is said to sing also. The nest is generally
placed in a hoof-print, or other depression in the ground,
though sometimes on a bank or mud wall, or even on the
edge of a low thatched shed (see Yarrell’s B. B. vol. i.
p. 633-4). It is easily distinguished from the Sky-Lark by
the reddish-buff colour of the under surface of the wings.

SHORT-TOED LARK.

Alauda brachydactyla.

‘Tis species, like the last, is a very rare visitant to Britain.
‘The first appearance in Sussex was that of one which had been
taken in a lark-net near Brighton in September 1854. It

SHORT-TOED LARK.—WHITE-WINGED LARK. 113

was for some time kept alive in Mr. Swaysland’s possession
(Zoologist, p. 4568). In April 1858 another was shot
while dusting itself in the road, and is noticed in the ‘ Ibis’
for 1859, p. 330. No other is recorded until November
1874, when a third was caught in a net, close to the same
place, and brought alive to Mr. Swaysland, who sent it, still
living, to Mr. Rowley. Of the habits of this bird I can say
nothing from my own knowledge.

WHITE-WINGED LARK.
Melanocorypha sibirica.

Tue only specimen which has been met with in England was
exhibited by Mr. Rowley, at a meeting of the Zool. Soc.
January 27th, 1870, and was taken in a net at Brighton. It
was a hen bird*, and when captured was in the company
of a flock of about two dozen Snow-Buntings. It is now in
Mr. Monk’s collection. Its habits are little known. It is
found in Northern Europe, and in South Russia generally,
and adjoining States. Pallas says that it frequents the road-
sides, singing as it flies; that it does not rise often to any
great height, though it warbles for along time while hanging
in the air, and that it builds its nest on the ground, forming
it of grass. .

* It was originally recorded in the ‘ Zoologist’, p, 1984,8. s., as a young
Snow-Finch (Montifringilla nivalis), a species not as yet known to have
occurred in this country.

114 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

EMBERIZIDZ.

SNOW-BUNTING.
Plectrophanes nivalis.

Tur Snow-Bunting visits the county almost every winter,
but is more abundant in very severe seasons. It arrives at
irregular periods depending on the weather, and sometimes
in very large flocks consisting of birds of both sexes and all
ages, though more generally, of birds of the year; and often
flying so closely together that many may be killed at a shot.
Tt is not often met with at any distance inland, and is gene-
rally found on the beach, or on the flats which are uncovered
except at the highest tides, and sometimes on the unploughed
fields in the neighbourhood of the coast.

On the 18th of June 1839, I saw, in the flesh, at Mr.
Swaysland’s an adult male which had just been shot near
Brighton. The nest has not yet been found in England, but
has lately been obtained in Scotland; the first nest found
with eggs was placed, according to Mr. John Young, in a
“ seree,”’ or stream of loose stones detached by weather from
the mountain-side. Hitherto there has been but a single
record of this nest, which was exhibited to the Linnean
Society, November Ist, 1888. The food of all the Buntings
is principally seeds of some kind; this species is especially fond
of those of Sueda maritima, but on occasion will eat oats.
At v. 792, s.s., of the ‘ Zoologist,’ Mr. Dutton records a
splendid pair shot at the ‘“ Wish Tower,’ Eastbourne, on
April 14th, 1867, one of them being in full summer plumage,

SNOW-BUNTING.—LAPLAND BUNTING. 115

that is, pure white head and breast and black back; and at
p. 3912, s. s., Mr. Clark Kennedy mentions a specimen shot
on the beach, at the same place, in July 1872, and that it
was in full breeding-plumage.

LAPLAND BUNTING.
Plectrophanes lapponica.

Turis Bunting is somewhat rare in England, and the follow-
ing are, I think, all that have been recorded as having
occurred in Sussex. In Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ (vol. ii.
p. 16) it is stated that one was caught on the Downs, near
Brighton, in, or previous to, 1827*. On September 30th,
1844, an adult male was netted with some Larks, on the
Downs near Brighton, and is now in my collection; it is in
the plumage of summer, but is undergoing a slight change
from the advance of the season.

In the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 2383, s. s.) mention is made, by Mr.
Bond, of a young male, obtained near Brighton on October 6th,
1870; and another, also a young male, was caught in a net
on the Downs, and purchased by Mr. Swaysland, in the first
week of October 1875 (p. 4695, s.s.) Both these last were
taken alive. In the volume for 1889, Mr. Brazenor, a bird-
stuffer of Brighton, states that he received a male which was
caught about a mile from the town, in February of that year,
and on September 28rd a female, and on October 10th a male
(see pp. 144 and 436) ; and in a letter received in June 1890

* This species was not recorded in England at all till 1826; in that
year one was caught in Cambridgeshire and was kept for some months
inacage. See Trans, Linn Soc. xv. p. 156.

12

116 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

he tells me that four more were brought to him in November,
and another in January, all taken in the neighbourhood.

According to Yarrell’s B. B. vol ii., this bird is found in
colonies in Lapland, where the cloudberry and the dwarf
birch are the chief vegetation, and utters a song, which,
though not brilliant, possesses a tone of sweetness. The nest
is formed chiefly of dry grass and a bedding of soft feathers,
which distinguishes it from that of any other species fre-
quenting the district. It is generally a local bird, and does
not assemble in large flocks ; it feeds on berries and insects.
In its fondness for swampy places it resembles the Reed-
Bunting.

REED-BUNTING.
Emberiza scheniclus.

Tue Reed-Bunting is found throughout the county wherever
there are beds of reeds, either by the river-sides or in the
marshes or ponds, and is resident throughout the year. It
is particularly abundant in the patches of reeds between
Shoreham and Beeding, where any evening many may be
seen dropping in, one by one, from a considerable height in
the air to their roosting-places.

In the winter they roam about with flocks of Sparrows and
other small birds, feeding along with them about the corn-
stacks and farm-yards.

In the breeding-season it utters a slight song, generally of
a few notes, the last two or three being drawn out consider-
ably, while the bird is sitting on a high reed, or little bush
overhanging the water.

It builds among the reeds, constructing its nest of coarse

RUSTIC BUNTING.—LITTLE BUNTING. 117

grass and moss, and lining it with finer grass and feathery
tops of the reed and a little hair. In land which is liable to
be flooded, it is often built on the tangled herbage which has
been left on the willows, or other bushes, on the subsidence
of the water. It is generally known in Sussex as the Reed-
Sparrow. _

RUSTIC BUNTING.

Emberiza rustica.

Norice of the only example which has occurred in England
was communicated to the ‘Ibis’ for 1869 (p. 128), by Mr.
Gould. It was caught near Brighton, October 23rd, 1867, and
is now in the collection of Mr. Monk. It was shown to
Mr. Rowley while still alive, and its portrait has been given
by Mr. Gould in his ‘ Birds of Great Britain,’

Its proper home is in the north-east of Europe, and the
most northern part of Siberia. In its habits it much re-
sembles the Reed-Bunting. Of its nidification little appears
to be known. (See Yarrell, B. B., vol. ii. p. 29.) According
to Mr. Dresser (‘ Birds of Europe,’ vol. iv. p. 233), the nest is
made entirely of fine wiry grass, and is not very carefully
built.

LITTLE BUNTING.
Emberiza pusilla.

Turs species, like the last, has only once occurred in Britain,
this example having been taken near Brighton im a clap-net.
It was exhibited by Mr. Gould, at a meeting of the Zoological
Society of London, November 8th, 1864, and recorded in

118 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

their ‘ Proceedings’ for that year, p. 377 (see also ‘Ibis,
1865, p. 118); this specimen passed into the collection of
Mr. Monk. It inhabits, like the last, the northern parts of
Europe and Siberia. It is found both in the older pine
forests and underwood, building on the ground an artless
nest of grass-stalks and larch leaves, and is said to feed on
a species of beetle of the family Tenebrionide. (See Yarrell’s
B. B. vol. ii. pp. 34-86.)

BUNTING.

Emberiza miliaria.

Tue Bunting is remarkably heavy and clumsy in its appear-
ance and movements, suffering itself to be approached within
a few yards, and then merely moving away to a very short
distance, with a laboured flight, and with its feet hanging
down.

It is a resident, frequenting principally the most open parts
of the cultivated land near the coast, between the Downs and
the sea. During the winter it assembles in large flocks,
seeking its food, which mainly consists of grass and other
seeds, in the stubbles, and occasionally about the corn-stacks,
and it often assembles to roost among thick herbage above
the ordinary high-water mark. In summer it spreads over
the cultivated fields, particularly those of seed grasses.
Among these it builds its nest, which is clumsily constructed
of straw and dry grass, with fine blades of the latter, fibrous
roots, and a little hair for the lining. At this time of the
year, it may be seen perched by the road-sides, and uttering
its harsh, single note from some bush or rail, and often from
a large clod, whence it has obtained the local name of “ Clod

YELLOW BUNTING.—CIRL BUNTING. 119

Bird.” A few pairs may occasionally be found on the north
side of the Downs, but it does not penetrate very far into, the
Weald. It is a very late breeder, its nest being often found
with eggs by the mowers. .

YELLOW BUNTING.

Emberiza cttrinella.

T'ais is the commonest, as well as the handsomest, of all the
British Buntings, and may be found in almost every hedgerow
in all parts of the county, uttering its well-known note of
“a little bit of bread, and no cheese ” in the spring, from the
top of a tree or bush.

The nest is seldom far from the ground, built of moss,
roots, and hair. Mr. Jeffery, in his private notes, men-
tions finding one composed entirely of roots. Like its con-
gener, the Bunting, it breeds rather late. In the winter it
flocks together with Chaffinches and other small birds, roving
about the fields and farmyards. It is always called the
“ Yellow-hammer ” in Sussex.

CIRL BUNTING.

Emberiza cirlus.

Tis is much more local than the last, but is found at
intervals all along the coast, though only in rare instances
in the Weald, and then not far north of the Downs. One
was accidentally shot, in the parish of Cowfold, by a person,
who fired at if as it was passing overhead, merely to

120 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

discharge his gun before coming indoors. This was a male
bird. It is tolerably common in the neighbourhood ot
Brighton, and I have met with it occasionally, from Hastings
in the east, to Bognor in the west.

The note, which merely requires of the passer by “a little
bit of bread and no —,” without any mention of the “ cheese,”
is generally heard from a high leafy tree, which makes it diffi-
cult to get sight of the bird.

This species is particularly fond of the berries of the
Solanum dulcamara. The nest is placed on, or near, the
ground, sometimes in a quickset hedge or low bush, and has
been found several times near Brighton, among ferns, on a
rockery; and in such a situation 1 was shown one in the
garden of Mr. Booth, on the Dyke road, on which the female
was sitting at the time. The nest was very similar to that
of the Yellow Bunting, and, like that species, this bird
assembles in flocks in the winter, sometimes, according to
Mr. Booth, as many as 50 or 60 being seen together.

ORTOLAN.

Emberiza hortulana.

Or the occurrences of this bird in Sussex there are not many,
and it is a decidedly rare bird in England. It visits us
occasionally in summer only. It is common in Holland and
Flanders, and breeds there, forming a nest somewhat like
that of the Sky-Lark; the note is said to be chirping and
monotonous.

In the spring great numbers are, or used to be, imported
into England from Rotterdam for the table, so that it is far

ORTOLAN.—BLACK-HEADED BUNTING. 121

from improbable that some of those recorded as having been
taken in this county are escaped birds.

On April 29th, 1841, a fine specimen, now in my collection,
was shot on the viaduct of the Brighton railway, close to the
town, and was recorded by me, Ann. Nat. Hist. vii. p. 524;
and a male was shot between Lancing and Worthing, April
27th, 1852 (Zoologist, p. 3476). Mr. G. W. Stephenson,
by whom it is recorded, mentions that when first observed, it
was seeking food on the beach by the road-side. It was
found to contain the remains of small beetles, principally a
species of Curculio. One of these birds was caught with bird-
lime on the Dyke Road, Brighton, in 1870, and was in the
dark brown plumage of the adult male in summer; this
specimen passed into my own collection. About the 5th of
May 1871, one was got at Brighton, according to Mr, J. I.
Gurney, junr. (Zoologist, p. 2682, s.s.). A female was
obtained near Brighton, in February 1877, which came into
my possession,

BLACK-HEADED BUNTING.
Euspiza melanocephala.

Tuts species was first recorded as British, by Mr. Gould, in a
letter dated December Ist, 1868 (see ‘ Ibis’ for 1869, p. 128),
in these words :—“ I have now to inform you of the occurrence
of Emberiza (Euspiza) melanocephala, of which a very fine
old female specimen in perfect plumage is now before me.
It was brought me by Mr. Robert Brazenor, of 23 Lewes
Road, Brighton, by whom it was shot about the 8rd of
November last, near Mr. Ballard’s windmill on Brighton
Race-course, while, as he stated, ‘it was following a flock of

122 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX,

Yellow-hammers.” His two sons were with him at the time.
On examination of the bird, a number of eggs were found in
the ovarium. This is all the information I was able to obtain
respecting it.” It has occurred once in Heligoland. Mr,
Robson, of Ortakeuy, states that its habits are similar to
those of the Common Bunting, sitting on the top of a bush,
or low tree, and pouring forth its simple notes, or flying from
one elevated part to another, with its legs hanging down.
The nest is built not far from the ground in a rose bush,
vine, or bramble. Dr. Lindermayer, in his work on-the Birds
of Greece, says :—“ This Bunting arrives always in the last
five days of April in Greece, appearing everywhere at once, so
that the flats near the sea, which are covered with vines and
other creepers, and the places where the olive-trees are
scattered about, are alive with this lovely and melodious bird.
It is peculiarly partial to vineyards. Its nest is always
formed of dried straw, is carefully made, and is lined with
horsehair. The bird leaves Greece in August,”

FRINGILLIDA.

CHAFFINCH.
Fringilla celebs.

ais bird is of such a sprightly disposition, and of such
elegant plumage, that “to be as gay as a Chaffinch”
has become quite an ordinary proverb. It is one of our
commonest Finches, and is found in all the wooded parts of
the country, and in every garden, and its joyous note is one
of the first indications of approaching spring. It has the

CHAFFINCH.—BRAMBLING. 123

remarkable habit of walking along a horizontal bough, and
may be often seen springing up from a high branch into the
air and pursuing an insect, very much in the manner of a
Flycatcher. It may be frequently seen on the road in search
of food, and inthe summer builds an extremely elegant nest,
generally well matched in colour with surrounding objects,
and composed of moss and wool, or any soft material, orna-
menting the exterior with pieces of white lichen, or now and
then a flake of birch bark, lining it neatly with hair and
feathers. It is disliked by gardeners from its propensity to
pick up the seeds from the radish-beds, and its eating the buds
of the early vegetables when just springing from the ground.
It is also very destructive to primroses and crocuses, com-
pensating greatly, however, for these injuries, by destroying
a vast number of leaf-rolling caterpillars, and insects which
infest our apple and other fruit-trees, and by devouring great
quantities of seeds of plants injurious to the farmer. It also
feeds its young principally on insects and their larve.

In the winter it assembles in large flocks, often, but not
always, of only one sex.

BRAMBLING.
Fringilla montifringilla.

Tue Brambling is an autumn visitant, occasionally remaining
late into the spring. It is most abundant in very severe
winters, and is found, either singly, or in small parties, feed-
ing round the corn-stacks, showing preference for oats.
Another specially favourite food is beech-mast, for which it
visits the plantations on the Downs and the Forest, occa-
sionally in large flocks of both sexes together.

124 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

There was a very large arrival of this species all along the
coast of Sussex, in January 1867, when the weather was very
severe, and the fall of snow unusually deep. In the same
month of 1871 there was an exceedingly violent storm, when
the largest arrival of these birds occurred that I ever re-
member, and great numbers sought their food round the
houses wherever it was charitably provided for birds in
general, and the stubbles along the coast were literally covered
with them, together with Linnets and other small birds.

On the 4th of February 1841, I shot three males and one
female as they were feeding under an oat-stack, behind the
Pad Inn, near old Shoreham Bridge, and three others were
shot near the same place a few days before.

I have hitherto referred only to the coast; inland, the
Brambling has often occurred, but not so plentifully. In
January 1838, a male was shot in the garden at Barrow Hill,
Henfield, while feeding on crumbs at the window; and in
February 1841 two more males were shot in the same parish.
In April 1843 a flock of about forty frequented the beech-
trees in the parish of Lower Beeding, in St. Leonards forest,
-for some weeks, and on the 14th two males and two females,
in full nuptial plumage, were sent to me. In October 1853,
about a dozen were caught in a sparrow-net while roosting
among the straw on the sheltered side of an oat-stack at
Cowfold, two of which I received; about the same time
several were obtained in the neighbourhood of Horsham.

TREE-SPA RROW.—HOUSE-SPARROW. 125

TREE-SPARROW.

Passer montanus.

A SEVERE winter generally brings small parties to the coast
and the Downs, accompanying the flocks of Bramblings, and
searching, like them, for their food on the stubbles and about
the stack-yards. They arrive in small flocks, some of them
passing on from east to west, and returning again in the
spring, when the greater number leave the county altogether,
a very few pairs remaining to breed. A few years ago, I
found a little colony nesting in holes in some pollard ash near
the river Adur, in the parish of Henfield. It has occasionally
been taken in the sparrow-nets, roosting in the corn-stacks ;
I have also received it from Eastbourne. In plumage the
male and female differ very slightly. It generally chooses a
hole in a tree for its nest, but it has several times made choice
of apertures among the sticks under the Rooks’ nests at
Oakendean, near Cowfold.

With regard to its song, though some consider it, harsh,
my own opinion is that it is very pleasant, but a trifle Spar-
row-like, and it is continued for some little time. 'The nest
is composed of dead grass and feathers.

HOUSE-SPARROW.
Passer domesticus.

Or this bird I may say with Horace—

“ Difficile est proprie communia dicere :”
it is as universally distributed over this county as it is
over nearly all the rest of Great Britain, and I have little to

126 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

say of it, save that it is about equally destructive and bene-
ficial to the interests of the agriculturist, for, though it
appropriates to itself large quantities of grain, it also rids
them of immense multitudes of injurious insects. It is a
most familiar as well as impudent bird, of which I may give
one remarkable instance. A lady at my own house at Cowfold,
watched one of them coolly plucking the feathers from the
back of a so-called Sicilian Dove (Turtur risorius), which
was sitting on its nest in a somewhat bare Arbor vite,
immediately under her bedroom-window. So many singular
situations which the Sparrow has chosen for its nest have
been described by others, that, although it has nothing to do
with the Birds of Sussex, I cannot refrain from mentioning
one, and this was in the mouth of Thorwaldsen’s celebrated
statue of the Lion, at Lucerne, greatly ‘diminishing the
dignity of the figure. The grimy appearance of the Sparrow
of our towns, and the bright and sprightly aspect of those of
the country, make them appear so distinct, that Mr. Booth
has facetiously given in his ‘Rough Notes’ an admirably
characteristic plate of each.

A Sparrow pudding is a favourite Sussex dish, and by no
means to be despised. Many hundreds are annually taken
in nets at night, and I have many times when a young man
joined in the amusement of catching these birds.

HAWFINCH.
Coccothraustes vulgaris.

Tue Hawfinch is resident, and is met with occasionally in all
the wooded portions of the county, in early spring singly,
and after the beginning of April, in pairs. By the middle of

HAWFINCH. 127

that month, or in the first fortnight of May, they may be
observed in little family parties, feeding on seeds in general.
By the time the peas are well formed they enter our gardens,
committing great havoc among them, and if undisturbed
they would continue to do so till after they are ripe, and
would finish them to the last pea. These birds are then very
wild and difficult to get a shot at. They are especially fond
of the seed of the maple. During the breeding season they
are remarkably silent, and had I not from time to time
picked up a stray feather or two of the bill-hook-shaped
primaries, 1 should have had no idea that there were any in
the neighbourhood. I have only myself met with two of the
nests in Sussex, and both were in my own garden; they
were roughly constructed of a rather large mass of dead
twigs of the birch, lined with fine grass, wool, a little hair,
and a few feathers. One was placed on a very leafy bough
of an apple-tree, and the other in thick ivy, against the trunk
of an oak, each about ten feet from the ground. In winter,
a considerable flock may occasionally be met with. In
December 1889, I observed a female breaking up the green
seed-vessel of an Arbor vite, close to a window of my own
house. They are remarkably fond of maize, which I have
often seen them take from the side of a pond where it was
thrown for some tame wildfowl, in my own grounds; and I
have several times caught them, attracted by the same seed,
at a chicken-house, which has a large run enclosed by iron
wire, where, on my sudden appearance, they were too
frightened to find the apertures by which they had entered,
and, on one occasion, I was so severely bitten on the hand as
to draw blood.

In January 1889, a female was seen close to the window at
Barrow Hill, Henfield, for some days, and was afterwards
joined by a male. They were observed feeding on the seeds
of a rose-tree, close to the house. This bird does not eat the

128 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

flesh of fruit, but only the kernels of the stones, of which it
swallows small pieces, for the purposes of trituration. Mr.
Jeffery, in his p. n., remarks that “in February 1878, this
species was plentiful in a cherry orchard near Chichester.
Twelve were sent in one day to a bird-stuffer in that town.”
One met its death by flying against the lantern of the Bell
Tout lighthouse, near Beachy Head, in December 1863
(Zoologist, p. 9043). Several were killed at Eastbourne.

a

GREENFINCH.
Coccothraustes chloris.

Tus species is very common, and resident throughout the
county, frequenting our gardens and hedgerows, breeding in
the shrubberies every spring, and, like the Chaffinch, doing
considerable damage to the seeds sown, or coming up, in the
kitchen garden. It nests in April, using green moss, wool,
and fibrous roots, and, for the lining, finer roots, hair, and a
few feathers. In winter it gathers on the stubbles and
hedgerows in large flocks, more especially on those between
the Downs and the sea, flying so close together that, in my
boyhood, I several times killed as many as twenty at a shot.

It resorts, at this time of year, to the farm-buildings and
stack-yards, as well as to the sea-beach and dry mud-flats,
where it feeds on the seeds of the rough herbage, among
which it roosts. The Greenfinch is often caught with other
birds in the sparrow-nets, and is much used in the cruel
“sport” of trap-shooting. Its monotonous call is heard
early in the spring, but it does not sing till the nest is com-
menced, or finished, and then it continues to do so till after
midsummer, often from the top of a high tree, occasionally

GREENFINCH.—SERIN. 129

flying up, and describing a small semicircle, almost hovering
in the air, and with wings stretched out and tail wide spread,
descends to the place whence it came, or to the top of another
tree close by.

SERIN.

Serinus hortulanus.

Or this, one of the smallest of our British Fringillide, but
few specimens have occurred. As almost all which have yet
been taken in this county have been caught near Brighton,
‘and as it is not a very uncommon cage bird, it is not im-
possible that all may be escaped birds: it is, however, re-
marked in Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ vol. ii., that most of the
specimens have been captured in the spring, the most likely
season for this species to reach England. Those I have seen
have certainly borne no marks of having been in confinement.
In my own collection I have a female caught near Brighton
on April Ist, 1873. It has never bred in this country.

According to the editor of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ (vol. ii.
p- 114) its song is poor, and generally uttered from the top
of some tree, and sometimes on the wing while flying up,
in the manner of the Tree-Pipit.

Its nest is very neat and compact, built of fine roots and
grass bents, neatly lined with feathers and horsehair, the
outer portion interwoven with spiders’ webs with a few bits
of lichen and grey moss. On the Continent, it inhabits
gardens and orchards, or the high poplars bordering many of
the roads.

Mr. Bond (Zoologist, p. 7105) mentions that he was shown
a specimen of this bird, which was caught in a clap-net near

K

130 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

Brighton, June 20th, 1859; it was then in the possession of
Mr. Pratt, who had it shortly after its capture; it was de-
scribed as being quite alone and very wild. Mr. Bond
believed it to he afemale. Mr. Monk (Zoologist, p. 229, s.s.)
states that a beautiful example was caught on April 9th, 1866,
at Hove; it was also taken in a clap-net, and was in fine
summer plumage; it passed into his own collection. Again
in the ‘ Zoologist,’ p. 119, for 1884, Mr. Bond records a
specimen of this bird taken near Brighton in April 1870.
Another is mentioned by Mr. Chase, of Edgbaston, as having
been obtained at Ovingdean, near Brighton, a male in perfect
plumage showing no signs of captivity, January 27th, 1888
(Zoologist, p. 108, for 1888). .

GOLDFINCH.
Carduelis elegans.

Auruoves the Goldfinch was formerly very common in all
the open parts of the county, it has, of late years, become
comparatively rare. Its favourite fare, “the thistle’s downy
seed”? or that of the common knapweed, of which it is ex-
ceedingly fond, are however still sufficiently abundant. It
formerly bred every year, in my own garden, frequently
choosing a horse-chestnut on the lawn, as also a Phillyrea,
placing its nest between the diverging stems close to the
trunk, and in a particularly thick apple-tree, near the end of
a leafy branch, and, now and then, a lichen-covered pear,
building it of wool, felted together with the aforesaid lichen,
and lining it with the down of the seed of the balsam poplar,
a very favourite material, when it can be obtained. The nest
is very similar to that of the Chaffinch, but much swaller

GOLDFINCH. 131

and even neater. For its sprightly manners, its cheerful
notes, and its extreme docility, it is greatly prized as a cage-
bird, and is frequently supplied with a small bucket and
chain, with which it is taught to draw up its water, or seed.
In winter it receives considerable accessions, and though not
in such large numbers as formerly, it is frequently captured
in clap-nets, coming freely to the call-birds. Mr. Booth
states that one Brighton bird-catcher informed him that
about twenty-five years before the publication of his ‘Rough
Notes,’ he had, at one pull of his net, taken eleven dozen.
Mr. Hussey, in 1860 (Zoologist, p. 7144), put the annual
captures of this species near Worthing at about 1154 dozen,
nearly all cocks; and Mr. Booth further states that even
larger numbers used to be yearly taken within ten miles of
Brighton, adding that in that neighbourhood it had now be-
come comparatively scarce, owing in part to the fatal prac-
tice of catching the birds prior to, or during the breeding
season ; so that not a hundred may now be seen, even at the
most favourable time of the year. Knowing this, no one
can be surprised at the diminution of the species. The young
are known to the bird-catchers as Greypates.

There is also a variety called the Cheveril, or the Chevil,
which is distinguished by being somewhat larger than the
ordinary form, by having the chin entirely white, and the
white on the sides of the bead extending upwards in a well-
defined line across the occiput; the sides of the breast,
which are usually brown, being also white. This form is
uncommon and valuable, because it is believed to have a
sweeter song, and to pair more freely with the Canary-bird.

K2

182 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

SISKIN.
Carduelis spinus.

Tue Siskin is an irregular autumn and winter visitant,
arriving about October, when the seeds of the alder are its
principal attraction, and occasionally congregating in large
numbers. It may then be found among copses and marshy
land, or on open commons and boggy places bordering the
little streams in St. Leonards forest, in the gills—a Sussex
term signifying the deep wooded ravines—wherever the alder
abounds, the seeds of which form its favourite food, and, in
search of that seed its attitudes are very like those of the
Titmice, as often as not head downwards. At this time it
is so tame that I have more than once heard of its being
caught with a noose at the end of a fishing-rod. While it is
feeding it keeps up a constant twittering. In the winter of
1871 or 1872 a flock frequented, for a few days, some old
alders at the head of the upper pond at Woldringfold, near
Cowfold, three or four of which were sent to me. I have
also seen it busily engaged on the seeds of the birch. It is
in high estimation as a cage-bird, and is often taken in the
clap-net. It will breed freely with the Canary-bird. In my
own notes I find, that in October 1839, several, males and
females, were caught at Hove. It has frequently been
observed among alders, near the Hassocks Station of the
L. B. and 8. C. Railway, and, at the proper.season, it may
be met with wherever that tree is plentiful. In Mr. Jeffery’s
p. n. I find the following remark :—“ July 3rd, 1867. I
have just heard from Mr. G. Drewitt, of Oving, that a pair
of Siskins have built, and hatched out their young, in the
garden of Mr. Birrell, the rector of that parish.” Mr,
Jeffery also records (Zoologist, p. 597), that on October

SISKIN.—MEALY REDPOLL. 133

12th and 13th, 1866, it was seen feeding on alder seeds, in
company with the Lesser Redpoll, and that the Siskin is
the rarer bird of the two. The nest is said to be very like
that of the Chaffinch, but smaller.

MEALY REDPOLL.
Linota linaria.

Tux Mealy, known to bird-catchers as the Stone, Redpoll,
has by some been regarded as only a large variety of the
Lesser Redpoll. It appears very irregularly in the winter,
sometimes in large flocks, but is never so abundant as the
species next to be described, and its numbers appear to have
decreased considerably of late years. It was unusually com-
mon in the neighbourhood of Brighton about 1875, since
which time it has been comparatively rare. I have never
myself had many opportunities of observing it. On the
north side of the Downs, a short distance from them, Poyn-
ings Common, which is covered with rushes and coarse
herbage, and bounded on one side with brushwood and high
timber, used to be one of its favourite places of resort, where
it fed on the seeds of the thistle and of the common knap-
weed (Centaurea nigra), and thus engaged, I once saw about
a dozen, some of them very brightly coloured, and admitting
a very near approach. Further into the Weald I have neither
met with nor heard of it. Most of those that have been
found have beén on the cultivated land between the Downs
and the sea. It has never nested in the county, nor is there
any record of the bird having been seen later than the middle
of February. It has probably acquired the title of Mealy
Redpoll from the elongated white fringes to the plumage,
which it assumes in the winter, giving it the appearance of
having been powdered over with flour.

184 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

LESSER REDPOLL.

Linota rufescens.

Tus, the smallest Finch which visits us, is seldom met with
in the Weald, and I have but once seen it there. —Its habits
are similar to those of the Siskin, and, like that species, it
delights in the seed of the alder, in search of which they are
occasionally found in company. Although it has nested in
each of the adjoining counties, and I have myself received an
egg taken by the late Mr. Bury in the Isle of Wight, I have
never heard of its having done so in this county in a truly
wild state. Mr. Booth has, however, mentioned that a few
nests werefound in elders and willows, in 1869, near Brighton;
he supposes, from the worn and faded appearance of the birds,
that they had escaped from confinement.

In the winter it is often captured in very large numbers in
clap-nets, no bird respouding more readily to the note of
the call-bird. At the time of immigration it has frequently
been taken in small traps on the roofs of the houses in
Brighton and Hastings. In confinement the red portion of
the head changes to yellow after the first moult.

LINNET.

Linota cannabina.

Turovenour the county, except-in the large woods, this
species is universally distributed. .It is resident, and breeds
especially in furze-bushes, and in all our gardens and shrub-
beries, forming its nest of roots, and lining it with wool. It

LINNET.—TWITE. 135

is a good songster, and in the winter assembles in very large
flocks, and many hundreds annually fall victims to the bird-
catchers. It feeds on small seeds of all kinds, and, like many
of its congeners, is, in the spring, very destructive in the
kitchen garden, but feeds its young principally on cater-
pillars and insects, thus perhaps doing more good than
harm.

TWITE.
Linota flavirostris.

Tue Twite, known also as the Mountain Linnet, arrives in
this county only in winter, confining itself entirely to the
coast, especially to the salt-marshes, and those portions of
the mud-flats which are dry and covered with coarse herbage.
In such spots I have particularly observed it in small flocks
just above the bridge at Old Shoreham, and in February
1841 I shot several there, and also fell in with a small party,
in company with the Brambling and Tree-Sparrow, picking
up the corn by the side of an oat stack in the parish of
Lancing. It is also frequently found on the beach. Like
the Common Linnet it is much prized by bird-fanciers, and,
though it has but a poor song, in severe weather it is caught in
great numbers. It breeds in the Northern Counties, where
the nest resembles that of the Common Linnet, and is generally
placed in a furze-bush.

136 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX,

BULLFINCH.
Pyrrhula europea.

In every part of the county, where there are high hedges or
tangled copses, the whistling call-note of the Bullfinch may
be often heard, though the bird itself is naturally wild and
retiring, keeping to the interior of the thick bushes, but it
will often show itself if one remains perfectly quiet. In
spring they enter the gardens, and then have the credit of
doing great damage, especially to the gooseberry bushes, by
picking off the buds to such an extent that I have been asked
to shoot them, though I think that the shot often does at
least as much harm as would be done by the birds. If you
squeeze one of them, and pass your thumb up ‘from below the
throat, it will discharge the buds, when you will find that
they have been swallowed whole, and though there is the
embryo of the blossom in each, I have nevertheless often
thought that they do more good than harm, for the crop of
gooseberries is generally as great as the bushes ought to bear,
and the fruit is the finer for the thinning.

The nest is constructed of small sticks at the base, most
artfully laid together, then comes a first lining of long roots,
and, after that, a second of very fine ones. It is often built
in a thick bush, or a closely-clipped quickset hedge. At this
period of the year it is very tame, and I have known the
nest in an Arbor vite close to my window, also in a Pyra-
canthus trained close to the window of a cottage. To the
berry of this tree the Bullfinch is especially partial, as it is
to the seed of the wild rose, and those of several other berries,
though it feeds its young with insects and half-digested
greeu buds,

BULLFINCH.—SCARLET GROSBEAK. 137

I have heard it remarked that this bird is extremely silent,
and that its call-note is the only one it possesses. The fact
is that its natural song is an inward warble, so low that
unless one is close to it, it is not likely to be heard. During
its delivery it puffs out its feathers and labours violently, as
if it thought it was making a great noise. It is valued as a
cage-bird for its beauty, and for the facility with which it
acquires artificial notes from a flute, or bird-organ. Though
this bird in confinement occasionally becomes black from
_ overfeeding with hemp-seed, I have known one instance of
a brood of four, taken near Hayward’s Heath, which were all
black from the first, and one of them is in my collection. I
mention this, because I think for a whole family to be of an
abnormal colour, in an undomesticated state, is extremely
uncommon.

SCARLET GROSBEAK.
Pyrrhula erythrina.

Tus species has only once been taken in Sussex. In Yarrell’s
‘ British Birds’ (vol. ii. pp. 172-3) we read as follows :— The
first unquestionable appearance of the Scarlet Grosbeak in
this country seems to have been recorded by Mr. Wonfor
(Zoologist, s.s. p. 1918), and the statement was confirmed
by Mr. Bond (op. cit. p. 1984), a hen bird having been
caught on the Downs, near Brighton, in September 1869.
This example was seen by the writer in Mr. Monk’s aviary
at Lewes, and lived there until June 1876.” Its habits are
described as much resembling those of the Linnet, though it
affects marshy coppices rather than the open country. It
is also called Scarlet Bullfinch.

138 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

PINE GROSBEAK.
Pyrrhula enucleator.

Tuis extremely uncommon visitor is reported to have
appeared twice in Sussex. It is an inhabitant of all the
coniferous zone of the northern parts of both the Old and the
New World, and possesses much of the retiring habits of the
Bullfinch. It is almost always a tame and unsuspicious
bird, and has acquired a reputation, quite undeserved, for
stupidity. The cock, in early spring, utters his melody from
the summit of a fir tree, chiefly at sunrise and sunset (see
Yarrell’s B. B. vol. ii. pp. 184-5). Mr. Knox, in his O. R.
wakes this statement :—‘ I can record but two instances of
this rare bird in Sussex; an example was shot near Cotes
House, about three miles from Petworth, while feeding on
the seeds of a Pinaster, by a gentleman of the name of
Mellish, who, being well acquainted with British birds, at
once recognized the species. In February 1848, two were
killed at the same time in Ashdown Forest, one of them, which
I saw, was an adult male.” But in the ‘ Zoologist ’ for 1877,
p. 247, concerning these two specimens, Mr. J. H. Gurney,
Junr., writes :—‘‘ Although it was believed at the time that
they had been killed as stated, Mr. Knox informs me by
letter, that he now almost begins to doubt them.”

In the same paper Mr. Gurney also states that he saw in
the possession of Mr. T. J. Monk, of Lewes, a handsome
yellow male bird obtained at Shoreham, near the old bridge.

CROSSBILL. 139

CROSSBILL.

Loxia curvirostra.

Roamine over the county in large or small companies,
this species may be found occasionally,in any month of the
year, wherever there is a plantation, or even a clump, of fir-
trees. My earliest note refers to January 1836, when two
in the red, and one in the green plumage, were shot, out of
a flock of about a dozen, at Nuthurst. In July 1838, a party
of about the same number visited a garden at Henfield, out
of which I shot one red and one green specimen, as they were
extracting the seeds from the cones of a Scotch fir. Their
method of doing this is by inserting both mandibles between
the laminz of the cone, and giving a twist, when, I suppose,
the seed falls into the mouth, as I never could see anything
of it on the withdrawal of the beak. They remained in that
garden, or in the neighbourhood, for several days. On the
29th of the same month and year, my attention was attracted
by the shrill note of a little flock of these birds as they flew
over my head. Following them, I found about a dozen on
some larch firs ; and on the next day I again saw several in
the garden at Henfield. In August of the same year, J met
with them again at Uckfield, and the points of the bill of five
which I shot were much more elongated than in any J had
before seen. The red birds had a great admixture of orange-
yellow. In March 1840 one was brought me from St.
Leonards forest. This was in the red plumage, and was
moulting, the new feathers on the throat being of a light
orange-colour, as were the few which were expanded on the
breast.

In February 1839, several were shot at Hurstpierpoint and
at Ringmer.

140 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

In January 1861, a flock of some sixty or seventy flew over
my head in a large plantation of larch, near Crawley, when
my attention was drawn to them by their letting fall several
cones of that tree. They settled at no great distance, when
I had an excellent view of their parrot-like manners, as they
frequently used their bills in climbing to different parts, of
the branch, or, standing on one foot, held the cone in the
other while extracting the seed; and I observed that they fre-
quently carried a cone with them when flying from tree to tree.

I once received a nest, with eggs, from St. Leonards
forest in March, but I have not recorded in what year. It
was about twenty feet from the grouud, on the branch of a
Scotch fir, close to the stem. The nest, or perhaps only a
portion of it, the only one I have myself seen, was constructed
of dry grass, lined with finer grass, and a little rabbit’s fur,
and finished with horsehair. Gilbert White mentions this bird
as appearing annually at Ringmer. Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 212)
states that “in the autumn of 1835, great numbers of these
birds were observed in most of the pine and larch woods in
Sussex. They were abundant at Salt Hill, near Chichester,
and in that neighbourhood, and at Parham.” Mr. Jeffery
observes that in July 1866, a male was obtained at Chidham,
and another, the following September, at Sidlesham.

PARROT CROSSBILL.
Loxia pityopsittacus.

Tue habits of this species, which was formerly considered
only a large variety of the Common Crossbill, but is now held
to be distinct, are similar to those of its congeners. I havea
Specimen in the red plumage, which was shot in St. Leonards

PARROT CROSSBILL.—RED-WINGED STARLING. 141

forest in March 1870. One is recorded (Zoologist, p. 6329),
by some one whose name is not given, thus:—“‘I saw
the bird, ‘in the meat, in Mr. Swaysland’s shop. It had
been caught at Bognor, by a bird-catcher in clap-nets,
November 2nd, 1858. The bird bit his fingers so much that
he dared not place it with the newly-caught Goldfinches, and
was therefore obliged to killit. It had a very large beak, with
the cross not nearly so much developed as in Lowxia curvi-
rostra. There was alittle yellow onthe head. It was curious
to find such a bird apparently a long way from any of its
appropriate food.” It is a native of the pine-forests of
Northern Europe, appearing in winter in Germany and
Poland occasionally, sometimes in Holland, Belgium, and
France.

ICTERIDA.

RED-WINGED STARLING.

Ageleus pheniceus.

Tis is a very abundant species in North America, and a
common cage-bird in this country.

The particulars of the only two specimens which have been
recorded as obtained in this county, are as follows :—One,
stated by Mr. Jeffery (Zoologist, p. 8951) to have been
killed on December 25th, 1862, at Sidlesham, and to have
been found in a hedgerow. He believed it to be a male, but,
it being shot in the back, he could not tell by dissection.
The gizzard contained, besides small gravel, some round black
seeds ; it was in good condition, and showed no signs of having
been in confinement. The second example is a male, said

142 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

to have been caught near Brighton, March 21st, 1866; kept
some time alive in a cage, and now in Mr. Monk’s collection.
In its native country, North America, it is very destructive
to corn, but also devours great numbers of insects.

STURNIDE.

STARLING.

Sturnus vulgaris.

Tus sprightly and familiar bird is found throughont the
county ; and in the spring affects houses and farm buildings,
breeding in the chimney-stacks and water-pipes, from which
it is very difficult to eject it, for, though several may be shot,
others will take their places most pertinaciously.

Neat as it may be in appearance, it is very untidy in its
habits, scattering the nesting materials about wherever it
takes upits abode. It is fond of cherries, but its food consists
very greatly of aphides and grubs, and of small Jand mollusks,
of which I have found many in the interior of Starlings
which I have examined, chiefly Zua lubrica and Zonites purus.
It often accompanies the cattle in pastures, feeding on the
crane-flies and other insects disturbed by their feet.

At certain times of the year they assemble in large cloud-
like flocks, and, at this time, they roost in great numbers in
the reed-beds and in the underwoods, breaking down the
reeds in the former, and in the latter destroying the
vegetation on the ground by their droppings. On arriving
at these spots they perform many evolutions, with great
chattering, before they settle, when they swoop down
suddenly and not a note is heard. They nest also in

STARLING.—ROSE-COLOURED STARLING. 143

holes in trees and chalk-pits, often in sea-cliffs, building a
rude nest of straws and hay, or any rough materials, with
many feathers, bits of worsted, &c.

The Starling has a very chattering note, as well as a pleasant
warble, and readily imitates the songs of other birds, or the
mewing of a cat, or sound of a saw, and it is easily taught
to speak many words and sentences.

ROSE-COLOURED STARLING.

Pastor roseus.

Very rarely, and at long intervals, this species has appeared
in the county. In its general habits and notes it much re-
sembles the Common Starling.

In its native country, South Russia, Turkey, Greece, &c.,
it assembles in large flocks, following, or sometimes preceding,
as if they expected their arrival, the flights of locusts, and
feeding on them, as well as on beetles and fruit. It nests in
large companies in holes of buildings and in quarries.

I have in my collection a beautiful adult male, which was
shot from the back of a sheep, near Brighton on August 20th,
1870. Another was in its company, and was shot at the
same time, but of which sex I have no information : they are
recorded in the ‘ Field,’ and in the ‘ Zoologist,’ p. 2344, s. s.
Another adult male was shot by Mr. Massie, of Warnham,
near Horsham, where it was shown me soon after by a bird-
stuffer.

Mr. Dennis, then Rector-of East Blatchington, informed
me that two specimens were shot in that neighbourhood in
August 1855, one, a male in full adult plumage, the other, in
moult. They were shown him by Mr. Potter, formerly a

144 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

bird-stuffer in Lewes. The first was the property of Mr,
Fuller, of Tarring Neville, by whom it was shot; the other,
of the sex of which I was not told, was killed by a gardener
at Piddinghoe, who, on Mr. Potter calling at his house,
brought it from his garden, where he had just shot it. A fine
specimen was shot at Bexhill, in August 1871, and sent for
preservation to Mr. Kent, of St. Leonards-on-Sea (Zoologist,
p- 2765, s.s.) It has never nested in Britain, though it has
occurred as early as May and as late as February.

CORVIDA.

CHOUGH.

Pyrrhocorax graculus.

«

I rear that the Chough is now extinct in Sussex. I may
mention that I had a good opportunity of watching the
habits of this bird in co. Mayo, Ireland, where it is still
numerous. Several authors have stated that Choughs never
settle on the grass; there, however, I saw them every day
on it, searching about like Starlings in front of the house,
and picking up something from the turf. They might be
heard chattering Irish down the chimney of my bedroom
early in the morning. T generally saw them flying about
in little parties, over the patches of oats and potatoes. They
breed on the cliffs, and on ruins of old castles, near the sea,
bnilding their nests, in the most inaccessible crannies, of
sticks and seaweed, feeding on beetles and grubs, as well as
on crustaceans and shell-fish, and are said to dig up young
potatoes. The note of the Chough when flying, somewhat
resembles that of the Daw, but is pitched in a much higher
key.

CHOUGH. 145

It frequently rolls over in its flight, and falls to a consider-
able distance, after the manner of the Raven.

Merrett, writing in 1667, speaks of it as found along the
whole coast, from Cornwall to Dover. Gilbert White,
writing in 1778, states that it bred on Beachy Head, and
on all the cliffs of Sussex. Markwick, that this bird fre-
quents the South Downs about Beachy Head and East-
bourne; and Mr. Woolgar, who died in 1821, says in his
catalogue of the birds of the environs of Lewes, printed in
Horsfield’s history of that town, that it “builds on the
cliffs on the coast. Common at Beachy Head.” Mr. Knox
(O. R. p. 213) says,—“ This was certainly its last stronghold ;
but it disappeared from the coast about twenty years ago.”
It is in evidence that Choughs were given occasionally by
Cornish gentlemen to their friends in other counties, and Sir
Thomas Gage, in his ‘ History of Hengrave,’ records one thus
sent by a Carew to Kytson, of Hengrave, in Suffolk. I hear
from Mr, Dennis, some time rector of East Blatchington, that
a Chough was brought to him on January 29th, 1868, by one,
Joe Barker, who had just shot it between Seaford Head and
the Puck Church. It was in good condition and plumage.

There is a legend that the Choughs, which foremrly bred
there, were derived from a pair which had escaped from con-
finement ; but Mr. Dennis informs me that he never heard
the story, and believes that it must have originated from the
fact that a gentleman turned out a pair of Magpies, which
bred for years on a solitary tree in front of the town of Sea-
ford. The gentleman paid blackmail to the boys not to
molest them. When he left, they were soon destroyed, and
the tree has long since perished.

Mr. Dutton, writing in the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1864 (p. 9099),
remarks :—‘‘ An old shepherd says, ‘Them there red-legged
Crows was common at Beachy Head ond Bell Tout about

forty years ago.’”
L

146 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

RAVEN.
Corvus corax.

Tue Raven is now become a rare bird in Sussex, and its
breeding-places are very few. Itis extremely voracious, and,
though feeding on any living animal it can master, hares,
rabbits, rats, &c., as well as on young lambs, or even full-
grown sheep, if found in a state of weakness, a dead car-
cass of any kind is a particular attraction. It feeds also on
freshwater mussels, as well as on marine shell-fish, or any
animal matter it may find on the sea-shore, though near its
nesting-places it is said to do little damage, driving off any
Hawks, or other intruders, from its neighbourhood. In my
own notes I find the following :—“ The Raven has for many
years bred annually in Danny Park, Hurstpierpoint. A fine
adult female was shot there in January 1840, which was
afterwards presented to me. Having been much disturbed
in the park, these birds forsook the spot, and betook them-
selves to a plantation on the side of the neighbouring Wol-
stonbury Hill, one of the South Downs.

“On April 16th, 1855, I visited this new settlement, and
found that the nest was built in an old Scotch Fir, about 50
feet from the ground. The birds were very auxious and
clamorous, flying round and alighting on the trees, some-
times within 200 yards or even nearer, or soaring over our
heads uttering their bark-like cry. A few days before, a
boy had been up to the nest, and found in it four young birds
newly hatched. He said that the old birds, when he was at
the nest, were very. savage, and darted down several times to
within a few feet of. him.”

Though it has nothing to do with the birds of Sussex, I

RAVEN, 147

may mention that on December 2nd, 1837, I saw in Cam-
bridge Market five young Ravens, quite in a callow state,
which had been taken within a few miles of that town, the
only instance in which I have known the young of any bird
to have been met with in this country, at that time of year, in
an undomesticated state.

It still breeds every season on the cliffs, and formerly did
so in Burton Park and at Parham. Mr. Knox, O. R.
(p. 150), states that they also bred in Petworth Park,
but had been missing for many years, till, to his surprise,
when riding one day in 1848, in the park, he heard the
unmistakable croak of a Raven, and perceived it dashing
among a flock of Jackdaws, which it succeeded in driving
from the precincts of its nest. This he found placed in a
fork near the top of one of the highest trees in a clump of
beech. The holes in the trunks were occupied by a colony
of Jackdaws. In the following year this clump of beech
was deserted for one of fir, and there Mr. Knox again found
them breeding. After this, the nest was robbed by a boy,
but the young birds were fortunately discovered and restored
to the nest, when the parents again took to and reared them.

The late Bishop Wilberforce, in his review of Mr. Knox’s
O.R.,in the ‘ Quarterly Review’ for September 1849, vol.
lxxxv. pp. 489, 490, makes this observation:—“In the spring
of the year the Ravens returned to their old nest, and re-
paired and occupied it according to their wont; incubation
had already begun, when a violent spring storm: actually
beat the mother from her nest, and scattered the eggs upon
the ground. After a few days the Ravens began to repair
the damage of the storm, and, abandoning the unfortunate
tree, they constructed upon another their new nest,

A second storm, almost as soon as the nest was completed,

again marred their work, and actually tore the nest itself

from the tree. For a few days the Ravens were missing ;
L2

148 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

after this they returned, but conjugal disagreement finished
what the violence of the wind had begun. The work of
nidification was recommenced, but one bird was set upon
repairing the original, the other, upon building a new nest,
For a day or two the divided work proceeded, when, as if by
mutual compromise, both abandoned their separate under-
takings and flew off together in search of a more favoured
spot. The appearance at the same moment of a pair of
Ravens, who proceeded forthwith to build and incubate at
Parham Park, about eight miles distant, seems to mark out
that place as the haven of their choice. ‘ Italiam leti
Latiumque petamus.’’’ There was, however, a Raven’s
nest at Parham Park long before the arrival of those birds,
and I suspect there were Ravens nesting in that Park for
many years before. About the year 1830 a pair nested near
the summit of the ruined gateway-tower of Bramber Castle,
and again in 1843; but these last were unfortunately shot.
Mr. Booth says, that in passing over the South Downs in
1876, near Saddlescombe, during September and October, he
noticed a pair of Ravens flying from the Dyke Hill. A year
or two later, a dead body, or rather a skeleton, of a man was
found in a patch of furze near the top of the hill, and that
as the Ravens had been often noticed about the same spot,
he had not the slightest doubt they had discovered it, and
had returned to it regularly, as long as there was anything
to attract them.

GREY CROW.
Corvus corniz.

Axtnoven this species and the Black Crow are now con-
sidered to be identical, its habits in this county do not

GREY CROW. 149

appear to warrant that opinion. For, whereas our present
subject does not appear there till October, departing in
March, I have never known any accession to, or diminution
of, the numbers of the Black Crow at either period. The
latter birds, too, pair inter se, in March, yet I have never
known them to do so in Sussex with the Grey Crow, a
circumstance which, had it occurred, would surely have been
noticed by some one. Why, if they are of the same species,
does the Grey Crow always leave us to a bird, and the Black
Crow breed here? It is equally persecuted wherever it goes,
being welcomed with strychnine in a piece of carrion, or in
an egg, placed for it in all directions, whether in England,
Scotland, or Ireland, no bird being more destructive to the
eggs or brood of any game, especially of Grouse. Surely the
circumstance of their breeding together in the northern
counties can be no proof of their being the same species.
On the 4th of January, 1841, I witnessed an interesting
chase of, I believe, a Common Bunting, by one of these birds
whose manceuvres in the pursuit were perfectly marvellous,
as it followed every twist and turn of its intended victim,
and this continued as long as they were in sight. As the
Bunting was evidently growing fatigued, I have little doubt
that the Crow succeeded in capturing it. Mr. Booth, in his
“Rough Notes,’ states that he has seen this Crow pursuing
birds, which appeared fatigued by a heavy gale, far out to
sea, and over it they will often hover, and drop upon any
floating garbage they can discover. All along the coast it
may be found during its short visit, feeding about the roads
and the manure heaps, and the more filthy its food the more
it seems to enjoy it.

Inland, it is seldom met with, though I have now and then
seen one some eight or ten miles from the coast. It retires
at night to the plantations on the Downs, those about
Brighton, for the most part, roosting in the beech woods in

150 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

Stanmer Park. It is known as the Grey, Royston, or Saddle-
backed Crow.

BLACK CROW.

Corvus corone.

Turs Crow, formerly very abundant all over the county, is now,
from its persecution by the gamekeeper, far less so, and bids
fair to become altogether extinct. Its habits and food are
similar to those of the Raven, and, like it, it is never found
in flocks, not more than a pair, or at most the parents and
their young, being seen together. The nest is generally on
a tree of moderate height, and usually placed on the top of
the trunk at the divarication of the principal boughs.
Although not associating together, I once found no less than
seven nests in one wood of about ten acres. This was in
April, and they all contained eggs or young.

The nest is neater than that of the Rook, and is formed
externally of dead sticks, copiously lined, often with dry
horse-droppings, overlaid with a thick layer of wool.

Though said to migrate southward in autumn, I have
always found the numbers about the same throughout the
year, except from the addition of young birds in summer.
In winter it frequents the sea-coast for what it can find on
the beach. I have twice seen it strike down a bird on its
flight—once a pigeon, which I picked up, and once a small
bird, which it carried away in its beak. It is generally
known as the Carrion Crow. It is particularly fond of the
large freshwater mussel, which it opens by violent blows
on the ligaments which attach the valves.

ROOK. 151

ROOK.
Corvus frugilegus.

So much has been written respecting this species, that I have
little, or nothing, new to say about it. As it has been dis-
puted whether, or not, it feeds on carrion, I may state that I
have often seen it tugging away at the pieces of horseflesh
hung up by the keepers in the trees, as food for their dogs.
Several winters ago, in a deep snow, a fox carried off three
pinioned Sea-Gulls from my own premises. I observed, in
three places in the meadow close to my house, several Rooks
busily engaged, and, on driving them off, I found the bodies
of the gulls, the head of each having been doubtless eaten by
the fox, the remainder being quite freshly torn about by the
Rooks. I left them, and the Rooks shortly returned, when,
with a binocular, I saw them swallow down several pieces of
the Gull’s flesh. The Rook is very destructive in gardens,
digging up and devouring the crocuses and tulips; it is also
particularly fond of green walnuts. Several years ago the
late Sir Percy Burrell, wishing to establish a Rookery at
West Grinstead Park, procured some boughs of trees with
nests containing young from about half a mile off, and fixed
them in a clump of old oak in the aforesaid park. The
parents came there, and the young were brought up, and a
considerable Rookery is now established.

There was, until a few years ago, one of the largest
Rookeries in the county, at Woodmancote. The timber,
which was some of the finest oak in Sussex, was cut about
1876. All the birds of the smaller Rookeries, from long
distances, used to resort to this place in the winter, visiting
occasionally their own colonies to repair the nests. Since

152 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

the destruction of this grand establishment, several smaller
Rookeries have sprung up in the county.

Before a gale, I have often seen Rooks ascend to what
Gilbert White would call a prodigious height in the air,
circling about, and now and then descending rapidly, nearly
to the ground, and continuing these manceuvres sometimes
for an hour together.

In Daniel’s ‘ Rural Sports,’ 1807, vol. iii., we find the
following :—“ Between the Rook and the Raven there appears
a wonderful antipathy. Mr. Markwick says, that in 1778, so
soon as a Raven had built her nest in a tree adjoining to a
very numerous Rookery, all the Rooks immediately forsook
the spot, and have not returned to build there since.

At the Bishop of Chichester’s Rookery, at Broomham,
near Hastings, upon a Raven building her nest in one of the
trees, the Rooks left the place. They, however, returned to
their haunts in the following autumn, and built their nests
there the succeeding year. It is no very difficult task to
account for this antipathy; the Raven will scarcely suffer
any bird to come within a quarter of a mile of its nest, being
exceedingly fierce in defending it; besides, the Ravens
seize the young Rooks from their nests, to feed their own :
this, at Mr. Seymer’s, at Harford, in Dorsetshire, Mr, Lam-
bert was eye-witness to, and there was no rest in the
Rookery, night or day, till one of the old Ravens and the
young ones were destroyed.”

The Rook occasionally builds on trees in our towns, as, for
example, at Brighton, where it may often be seen settling on
the pinnacles of the Pavilion.

DAW.—PIE, 153

DAW.
Corvus monedula.

Tur Daw, generally called the Jackdaw, is resident and
abundant, associating much with the Rooks, building in the
hollows of the trees of the Rookery, and sometimes in the
masses of old Rooks’ nests, the accumulation of years ; it
frequents also the higher spires in our towns, and is fond of
breeding in old chimneys, or on the flights of steps, and in
apertures in ruins and ancient buildings, as well as in cliffs
and chalk-pits. The Daw is a sad thief, and is greatly
attracted by any bright object, such as a teaspoon, or piece of
money, which it will hide in some corner or cranny ; it will
often steal sticks used for marking the plants in gardens,
and is a very familiar bird, and exceedingly amusing. It
constantly accompanies the Rooks in their excursions, and,
like them, indulges in extraordinary aerial evolutions, chasing
one another and tumbling in the manner of certain varieties
of the tame Pigeon. It feeds on garbage of all sorts, as well
as on grubs, beetles, &c., and is very fond of walnuts. It
uses large quantities of sticks, sometimes more than a bushel,
in the construction of its nest, lining it with quantities of
horse-droppings, shavings, and wool.

PIE.
Pica rustica.

Tuts beautiful bird, which appears at a distance to be merely
black and white, has, in fact, but little real black about it,
and that only on the head, neck, and upper part of the back,

154 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

the rest of the dark portions of its plumage being shot with
green, bronze, and steel-blue. It is exceedingly cunning,
and a great enemy to the game preserver, killing young
hares and rabbits, and stealing the eggs and young of Part-
ridges and Pheasants from the coops. It builds a rough and
bulky nest in the branches of a high tree, doming it over,
and composing the foundation of sticks, and the interior of
fibrous roots, turf, and grass, forming a deep cup, which it
then plasters with clay. The dome is more lightly built of
the thorniest sticks, making a sort of chevaua de frise pro-
jecting outside in all directions. The entrance is in the side,
just proportioned to the size of the bird. When the female
is sitting, a person waiting to shoot her often finds it difficult
to make her leave the nest, even by striking the tree with a
stick, and when she does so she suddenly descends perpen-
dicularly, keeping the trunk of the tree between herself and
her foe, and thus often escapes for a time. It, however,
sometimes chooses for its site a thick hedge, or closely grown
hawthorn, perhaps quite low down, and when this is the case
it is called in Sussex the “‘ Bush Magpie.”

It formerly bred freely in all parts of the Weald, but,
from constant persecution, it has now betaken itself chiefly
to the thorn-trees in the deep valleys of the Downs. Great
numbers were formerly taken in steel traps baited with a
hen’s egg, this being an irresistible attraction.

It is a favourite cage-bird, being amusing in its actions,
and readily tamed, and taught to talk, imitating, of its own
accord, the various noises around it.

Besides the food already mentioned, it has a strong pen-
chant for cherries and peas.

JAY. 155

JAY.

Garrulus glandarius.

Tuis very gaily dressed bird is still fairly abundant in
most of our woods and copses, and is rightly named garrulus,
as its whereabouts is constantly proclaimed by its squalling
and harsh cries, at all times of the year, except in the breed-
ing season, when it is so silent that, unless from occasionally
seeing the old bird, no one would suppose there was a Jay in
the neighbourhood. Of this, I can give a notable instance:
I was sitting on a seat in my own garden, under a very thick
evergreen oak, a conspicuous object from my window, when,
to my surprise, I heard the cry of a young Jay overhead,
and, on looking up, there was the nest, though I had not
seen or heard the parents about the premises.

This is the only one of the Corvide which attempts a
song, and a strange medley it is, of an inward chattering and
gurgling warble, mingled with an occasional imitation of
the notes of various other birds, and perhaps, now and then
the mew of a cat, or bark of adog. During the utterance of
these notes, it is usually concealed among the thick foliage.
It builds an open nest, about 15 feet from the ground, on
the top of the trunk of a tree, in the underwood of a coppice,
or in a thick bush, on a considerable platform of sticks, and
lines it very neatly with fine roots.

I have several times shot this bird with a mouse in its
bill, and two or three times with a young Partridge in the
down, and once an old Tree-Pipit. As this last was in May,
it had probably captured it while sitting on its nest. It is
fond of maize and fruit, and, if it has a chance, does great
damage amongst the peas in the gardens. It is also a great
devourer of eggs, and is constantly caught by the keepers, by

156 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

placing a Thrush’s nest on a little platform of turf four or five
feet from the ground, among the underwood, and surrounding
the nest with steel traps. In captivity it will imitate the
noises of the neighbourhood. The blue feathers.of the wing
are in great repute among anglers for the dressing of their
salmon-flies. It is frequently much infested by a species of
Hippobosca.

NUTCRACKER.
Nucifraga caryocatactes.

Tue only occurrence of this bird in Sussex is the following :—
On the 26th of October, 1844, 1 saw one at a bird-stuffer’s in
Brighton, which I was told he had received, in the flesh, from
a farmer of the name of Newman. On him I called, and
was informed that it was shot by his nephew, Mr. Roods, at
Littlington, on the 26th of the previous September. It was
flying across a turnip-field, and appeared to have risen from
a stubble near at hand. Unfortunately the interior had
been removed before it was sent to Brighton. It isa mature
bird. The sex was not ascertained, nor what it had been
feeding on. I bought it, and have it still. It is said to be
not uncommon in some parts of Europe. The following ac-
count by a lady relative, Mrs, Blackburne, of Henfield, a
great and accurate observer of birds, gives so graphic a
description of its manners, that I think I may, as the lawyers
say, “put it in;” it was written out at my request in
March 1890 :—

“You asked me to give you an account of the Nutcracker
which I saw in Switzerland.

“We were walking from the Eggischhorn to the Bel Alp,

mon

THE NUTCRACKER.

hth.

J.GKeulemans del et

NUTCRACKER. 157

and, when we had passed the Reider Alp, began to descend
the rugged side of the mountain, which is covered with fir-
trees, through which the path is cut in steep zigzags to the
edge of the Great Aletsch glacier in the valley beneath. We
had scarcely entered the wood, when I heard the call of a
bird whose note was quite new to me, strong and loud, yet
full and rich, reminding me ef the Australian Crow, whose
note I had heard in confinement. My brother thought it
was harsh, but I thought it only clear. We both watched,
and saw the bird busy at the top of a fir-tree, searching
among the cones. It seemed very wary, but not shy, and as
we could only see it against the sky, it looked black, and it
flew away before we could make out what bird it was.

“ A short time after, I heard another call, and proceeding
very quietly, I saw the bird busily at work on the top of a
fir-tree pounding into one of the cones, using its powerful
beak like a hammer, as the Nuthatch and the Tits do. Before
we got down to the edge of the glacier, we saw five or six of
the birds. I think they were a family party, they answered
each other’s call, and flew from tree to tree, always settling
quite on the tops of the firs and holding the cones with their
feet together, beating into them with their beaks. I could
not get near enough to see the spots clearly, they looked a
brownish black. I consider they were young birds of the
year, and, like Starlings, not getting their full plumage till
after the moult. I have no doubt as to their being Nut-
crackers ; there seems no other bird they could possibly be.
I was very glad to have the opportunity of watching them.
They looked about the size of small Jackdaws, but it is
always difficult to judge accurately the size of birds in very
wild and bold scenery.”

The editor of Yarrell’s ‘British Birds’ (vol. ii. p. 335),
describes a nest in his possession as five or six inches in thick-
ness, with an outside diameter of about afoot, and six inches

158 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX,

across the interior. It is composed outwardly of sticks and
twigs of larch, spruce, and birch; all, as the swollen state of
their buds show, freshly plucked, as is also the grass with
which it is thickly lined..... In some nests a considerable
quantity of earth, or rotten wood, underlies the lining, which
occasionally consists of hair-like lichen. Mr. Hancock, in
his ‘ Catalogue of the Birds of Northumberland and Durham’
(p. 40), after giving an interesting account of a Nutcracker
which he kept six years in confinement, makes the following
remarks :—“ Its voice was very peculiar; it had an extremely
harsh loud cry, resembling the noise produced by a ripping
saw while in full action. This cry was so loud that it could
be heard all over the house. It had also a sweet, low, delicate,
warbling song. This was uttered only when everything was
perfectly quiet. The song was much varied, and was con-
tinued for some time. So low and delicate was it, that it
could only be heard when the bird was close at hand, and
the note seemed as though it were produced low down in the
throat. The song was occasionally interrupted by a few low
creaking notes, like those produced when a corkscrew is
being used.”

HIRUNDINIDZ.
SWALLOW.

Hirundo rustica.

Tue average date of the arrival of the Swallow in this county
is, according to notes kept by myself for more than thirty
years, the 6th of April, but they are seldom numerous till
about a week later. I once witnessed the, apparently, first
arrival of a considerable company of these birds, which settled

SWALLOW. 159

together on the branches of an ancient pollard ash, and were
so fatigued that several dropped from the tree, and even
allowed me to pick them up and put them on the somewhat
flat surface of a large limb, where they remained quiet for
more than half an hour. This was at least four miles inland,
and I never could understand why they had not rested sooner ;
but I suppose the distance ‘to a Swallow in full flight is a
matter of very few minutes, and hardly appreciable.

The nest is built of mud, mixed with small pieces of hay
or straw, and lined with feathers, which the Swallow, like
the Martin, often, perhaps always, catches in the air. It is
saucer-shaped, and though often placed in a chimney, about
six feet down the shaft, is more commonly found on the sur-
face of a beam in a barn, or under the roof of a porch, or out-
house, perhaps under a bridge, or the arch of a gateway. I
once found one in a small box left on the seat of a summer-
house; and, when a boy at school, saw one in the same situa-
tion as that mentioned by Gilbert White, namely, on the
back of a dried Owl, which he says went to the Leverian
Museum. My specimen was hanging up in a barn at Wester-
gate, near Chichester; what became of it I do not know.
When the young are hatched, the parent birds collect a large
quantity of gnats and small Coleoptera in their mouths, with
which to feed them. At this time, on the approach of a
person to the nest, it will swoop down at his head, making a
snapping noise with its beak, as it will also at a dog or cat.
I have seen them caught by boys, with a fishing-rod, with a
small white feather, or piece of paper on the hook. Shoulda
Hawk come in sight, they will collect, and mob him and drive
him off. They assemble in large numbers on roofs and tele-
graph wires, previous to their departure from the country,
and the main body have all left by the end of October.

The young may be known on the wing, by the absence of
the elongation of the outer feathers of the tail.

160 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

MARTIN.

Chelidon urbica.

Tue Martin arrives a little later than the Swallow, about the
middle of April, and the main body have left us by the
middle of October. I have, however, occasionally met with
a few as late as November, on the 5th of which month I once
observed four, hawking for insects around the castle at Lewes. -
These were young birds, as has been the case with nearly all
those Ihave seen so late in the year. These birds are much
persecuted by the Sparrows, who frequently take possession
of their nests, and not always with impunity; for in two
instances I have seen the Martins stop up the entrance of
one, in which the Sparrows had young; oncé at Shelford,
near Cambridge, about the year 1839, and again at Martin
Lodge, Henfield, in 1842 or 1843. In the former case
seven Martins were busily thus engaged, and in spite of the
resistance of one of the old Sparrows, if not of both, from the
inside of the nest, they succeeded in imprisoning them. The
Martin usually affixes its mud-built nest on the wall under
the eaves of a house, or beneath the architrave of a window,
sometimes on the underside of a mass of chalk projecting
from a cliff. A colony of these birds will frequently breed
in close proximity, and a row of perhaps a dozen nests may
be seen together. They seldom alight on the ground, except
when collecting mud for their nests, the feathers with which
they line them, being often captured in flight while floating
in the air.

SAND-MARTIN, 161

SAND-MARTIN.

Cotile riparia.

Tuts, the smallest of the British Hirundines, arrives, in most
years, a few days earlier than the Swallow, making its appear-
ance near some river or pond. It is seldom seen far from
the water, except in the breeding-season, at which time
it resorts in considerable numbers to sand-pits, railway-
cuttings &c., in the perpendicular faces of which it digs out
nearly circular holes, that, unless interrupted by a stone, or
a stratum too hard to penetrate, it excavates to the depth of
about two feet, straight or crooked, according to the nature
of the soil, clinging, by the support of its tail, or sometimes
head downwards, and scratching out the earth with its feet :
at the further end of the hole it forms a neat nest, composed
of fine grass, lmed with feathers, preferring those of the
Goose. It feeds its young on dragonflies and other insects.
Though generally silent, the male has at this time a soft
twittering song. Its flight is wavering and butterfly-like.
It usually avoids the neighbourhood of houses, but occa-
sionally makes use of the holes in masonry, called in Sussex
“putlog” holes. It is rarely met with on the Chalk, or in
the district between the Downs and the sea. It is much in-
fested by fleas, which may often be seen in multitudes in and
around its holes. The Sparrows greatly persecute it, and
often possess themselves of its hard-earned abodes. It does
not congregate, like the other Hirundines, previous to its
departure, but all have left us by the end of September.

162 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

PICARIZA.

CYPSELIDA.

SWIFT.

Cypselus apus.

Tue Swift arrives about the 4th of May, when it congregates
around the highest buildings of our towns, or the towers of
our village churches.

In fine weather it seems to pass the greater part of its
existence in careering about high in the air, for it is never
seen to alight on the ground or to settle on trees or buildings,
and, except in the breeding-season, seems never to rest.
At this time Swifts may be seen dashing about, pursuing
one another with rapid flight, and screaming loudly. They
are particularly active during thunder-storms; in very rough
winds or cloudy days, however, they may be observed to fly
much lower, and when they have young will descend nearly
to the ground, or fly over the water, capturing dragonflies
and other insects, especially minute Coleoptera. In the
breeding-season they betake themselves to the eaves of some
lofty building, where they place, generally on the wall-plate,
an artless nest of hay or straw, lined with feathers, and at the
time of incubation the females are serenaded by the loud
cries of their partners as they dash around the building.
They will sometimes, however, take possession of similar
situations under the roofs of low cottages, returning to them
tor many years in succession. I once observed a pair of

SWIFT.—ALPINE SWIFT. 163

these birds flying to and fro under a bridge, only a few
inches above the level of the surrounding fields, and, as the
water was low, I managed to get under it, and there found,
on the piece of timber supporting one end of the planks of
the bridge, a nest containing twoeggs. On another occasion,
I found several birds. sitting on their nests on the wall-plate
under the eaves of a church, and took them off to see how
many eggs they had, placing the old birds by the side of the
“ nest, when they made no effort to move, and I put them back
and left them. As I have said before, the Swift is never
voluntarily on the ground, and, when placed on a level sur-
face, rises from it with great difficulty. It is infested by
great numbers of a species of Hippobosca. It leaves us
early in August, but I have once seen it as late as the 14th
of September.

ALPINE SWIFT.

Cypselus melba.

Tuis rare straggler is larger than C. apus, measuring 18
inches in extent of wing. Its habits are very similar. In
Switzerland, the only place where I ever saw it alive was
about the Cathedral in Berne, whither I went for the pur-
pose, and well was I rewarded! for it was a beautiful day,
and I saw great numbers of this magnificent Swift careering
around, and far above, the spire. I was not so successful,
however, in procuring the egg, in hope of which I ascended
the interior of the spire, for the only nest I found, but did
not see, was in a hole which I thought I could reach from
a small opening at the highest accessible point. By leaning
out as far as possible, I could just touch an egg with the tips

of my fingers, but durst not reach out an inch further, the
M 2

164 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

mullion on which I was leaning showing signs of consider-
able weakness. I wetted my fingers and made some mud
from a dirty beam, hoping an egg might adhere to
them, but with no avail, as it was not sticky enough,
and I was obliged to give up the attempt, having no
desire to make so rapid a descent as I might have done.
What would I not have given for a bottle of gum, or a tea-
spoon! but there was no time to go down and return, as I
was compelled to leave by a particular train. This was in
August 1869. The nest is thus described in Yarrell’s
‘British Birds, vol. ii. p. 375 :— The nest is placed in holes
of rocks or buildings, and is described as being small, for
the size of the bird; semicircular when placed against a
vertical surface, and formed of straws, grasses, and leaves,
with moss, or almost any other material it can collect on the
wing, the whole being glued together with its,saliva.”

The only specimen which, as far as I am aware, has
occurred in Sussex, was seen sitting on a rail at St.
Leonards-on-Sea early in October 1851, and was knocked
down by a boy. It passed into the possession of Mr.
Johnson, chemist, of that place (Zoologist, p. 3330).

CAPRIMULGIDA.
NIGHTJAR.

Caprimulgus europeus.

Tur Nightjar, Fern Owl, or Goatsucker, is migratory, appear-
ing about the middle of May, and leaving the country
towards the middle of September. It is found in all the
wooded districts, as well as on the open Downs and heaths.

NIGHTJAR., 165

It feeds generally by night, on Coleoptera, especially the
chafer, and on the night-flying moths. Gilbert White says
that, while watching one of these birds pursuing chafers, he
saw that it conveyed something to its mouth with its foot,
and that he supposes the serration of the middle claw to be
useful to the bird in holding its prey; and in Yarrell’s
‘ British Birds ’ is mentioned the suggestion of Mr. Sterland,
that it may be an assistance to it in maintaining its hold on
the branch of a tree in the horizontal position which, when
it settles, it always assumes. It is, however, doubtful
whether it is designed for this purpose, or what its true
function is. Although, as I have said, it mostly feeds by
night, I have several times seen it in the brightest sunshine,
lying on the top of a bee-hive, swooping every minute or two
at the bees, and have known it so engaged for many hours
at a time, and it is often shot while thus destructively
employed.

So far from avoiding the sunshine, it seems to delight in
it, and I have often seen it knocked on the head by the all-
destroying keeper.

My son, going about one night with a lantern, collecting
moths on sugar, observed one thus stretched out on the top
of a post, and, turning his lantern on it, the bird was so
dazed by the light that it allowed itself to be stroked down
the back. Its note exactly resembles the sound of a spinning
wheel, and the “Spinning Wheel Copse” has from time
immemorial been the name of a small wood in a neighbouring
parish, which is more resorted to by Nightjars than any spot
with which I am acquainted. It has another note, resembling
that caused by the passage of a whip through the air. It
has extraordinary powers of flight, twisting and wheeling
about in all directions.

It lays its eggs, making no nest, on the ground, in an open
space in a wood, and seems fond of placing them among the

166 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

chips left by the hoop-shavers, where I have often found them.
When startled while sitting, it strikes its wings violently -
together in the manner of the Pouter and some other Pigeons,
though its usual flight is inaudible. This has hitherto been
considered the only representative in this country of the
Caprimulgide, but a single specimen of the C. egyptius has
been obtained in Nottinghamshire ; and an example of the
large South-European species, C. ruficollis, is said to have
been taken in Northumberland, in October 1856 (Ibis,
1862, p. 39).

CUCULIDE.
CUCKOO.

Cuculus canorus.

Havine kept notes of the arrival of the Cuckoo in this
county for more than thirty years, I find the earliest to have
occurred on the 6th of April 1844, but about the 14th is the
more usual date. There is a saying in Sussex that it is
turned out at Heathfield Fair, which is held on that day—
the name of this village is rustically pronounced Hévél.
Although the Cuckoo is not strictly polygamous, seven or
eight may occasionally be seen chasing one another from
tree to tree, and at this time another syllable is prefixed to
the usual note, thus: “Cu-cuckoo,” generally twice repeated
at short intervals. It has besides a clear, liquid note, which
I cannot express in writing, and it also chatters, on leaving a
- tree, somewhat in the manner of the Magpie. It is frequently
heard at night even when it is wet and dark. On the 9th
of May 1846, T heard two uttering the note with the prefix,

CUCKOO. 167

for nearly a quarter of an hour. The Cuckoo feeds on moths,
dragonflies, and hairy caterpillars. I believe few birds will eat
the larva of the sawfly of the gooseberry, but I once saw five
Cuckoos together in my garden busily thus engaged. These
birds are perfectly harmless, yet the keepers constantly kill
them, no doubt mistaking them for Hawks. There has been
great discussion as to how the bird contrives to place its egg
in the nest, which is often so built, or situated, that it would
be impossible for it to adopt the usual method; it is, how-
ever, now indisputably settled that it conveys it in its mouth.
Formerly, when a Cuckoo was shot while on this errand,
the broken egg in its mouth caused it to be suspected of
robbing other birds’ nests. According to the nursery rhyme,
“Tt sucks little birds’ eggs to make it sing clear.” I have
oceasionally found the Cuckoo’s egg in the nest of the
Chaffinch and Greenfinch, and in that of the Pied Wagtail ;
but those of the Hedge-Sparrow, the Robin, the various
Pipits, and the Reed-Warbler, seem to be usually preferred.
The Cuckoo has generally left us by the end of July, though
an occasional bird, usually young, may be observed late in
September. .

It is generally diffused all over the county, but prefers
open heaths, especially those where there are scattered
timber trees. It is also partial to marshy land. When
uttering its note, it usually sits horizontally on abough. Its
mode of flight, and its general appearance, are so much like
those of a Hawk that it is much persecuted by small birds,
for which they, like the gamekeeper, no doubt mistake it,
and, perhaps for that reason, it is very shy and retiring. In
the numerous eggs which I have seen, there has been very
little variation in colour, some being slightly redder than
others. I took one, at Cowfold, from a Hedge-Sparrow’s
nest, which was as large as that of the Alpine Accentor, and
of the same colour as that of the Hedge-Sparrow, of which

168 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

I at first thought it a double-yolked specimen, which it was
not, and several naturalists agree with me that it is that of
a Cuckoo.

UPUPIDS.
HOOPOE.

Upupa epops.

Tis species makes its appearance almost every spring, prin-
cipally in April, and again pays us an autumnal visit. Its
occurrences are too numerous to need individual notice, and
it has in very few instances bred in the county. The earliest
on record, that Iam aware of, was at Southwick, near Shore-
ham, where a pair hatched their young in a hole in an ash-
tree on the village green. They were for some time in the
possession of Mr. Waring Kidd, of Brighton. I visited the
spot, and examined the remains of the nest, which was on a
bed of rotten wood, quite soaked with a most horribly
odorous mass of putrid matter. In another instance, a pair
hatched their young in a tree at Park End, Chichester, about
the year 1835, as is recorded by Mr. Jesse in his ‘ Gleanings’
(vol. iii, p. 148).

I saw an example of this bird on my lawn, on the 14th of
April 1882, and watched it for some time searching for food
among the grass, using its bill as a man would a pickaxe,
which instrument, supposing the head and neck to form the
handle, and the bill and folded crest the rest of the tool, was
thereby not badly represented. I did not hear it utter any
note, nor did I see it erect its crest. When disturbed, its
flight greatly resembled that of the Jay, but was more
buoyant.

HOOPOE.—ROLLER. 169

I was told afterwards that either this or another Hoopoe
was seen running about in an adjoining meadow, on the 29th
of the same month. It is a very filthy feeder, delighting in
searching in noisome manure heaps for grubs or beetles, for
which it also frequents willows and other trees, probing the
perforations made by these insects, it also feeds on earth-
worms, often running round in circles, trampling down the
grass to bring them to the surface.

When I was quite a boy, I made my first acquaintance
with the Hoopoe in this way: I was at a farmhouse when
the tenant brought in a Hoopoe, which he had just shot in
a wood close by. His wife said, “It is a pretty bird and
ought to be kept ;”’ to whom he replied, “ Hang it up in the
chimney by the side of the bacon,” which was accordingly
_ done. Many years after I saw it again, and was told that
it had just been brushed over with a hat-brush. It was still
in fair condition, though rather spoilt by the smoke.

CORACIIDA.

ROLLER.

Coracias garrulus.

Tuts very rare visitor has made its appearance in Sussex, but
the notices are few and far between. From Yarrell’s
‘British Birds’ we learn that, in the countries of which it is
a native, it frequents the woods and is very shy, and is
generally seen passing from one dead tree to another in
search of Coleoptera, uttering in its flight a loud cry resem-
bling the words “ Rack-rack-rack.” It also feeds on frogs.
The nest is commonly placed in a hollow tree, occasionally

170 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

in a hole in a bank, or wall, using a bedding of roots and
grass, or feathers and hair, on which it places the eggs. It
has obtained its name from a habit of rolling over in its flight.
The earliest record of this species in Sussex is that of Hill
(Hist. Anim. p. 369), who states that one was seen by him
in Charlton Forest in 1752. Markwick, in his Catalogue of
Sussex Birds, read before the Linnean Society (1795), merely
says, “A bird of this species was killed in this neighbour-
hood.” Mr. Knox records an example shot by Mr. Tomsett,
near Alfriston, and another shot in July 1843, on Chinton
Farm, near Cuckmerehaven. In the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 2497)
there is a notice of a specimen shot on the 29th of May,
near Nutley, on the borders of Ashdown Forest, which
proved on dissection to be a male, and a cockchafer, with the
remains of other large Coleoptera, was found in its stomach.
Iam informed by Mr. Dunlop, Vicar of Henfield, that this
specimen is now in the possession of Mrs. Day, of Uckfield
- House, and was shot by Mr. John Bennet, for whom Mr.
May, naturalist, of East Grinstead, informs me that he
mounted it. Mr. Monk has recorded a Roller which was
killed at Isfield, on June 12th, 1870, and purchased by Mr.
McQueen, of Chailey, who presented it to him. On dissec-
tion, the only thing found in its stomach was a small cock-
chafer (Zoologist, p. 2224).

MEROPIDA.
BEE-EATER.

Merops apiaster.

I wave only heard of three instances of the occurrence of
this species in Sassex. The first was shot by Sergeant

BEE-EATER.—KINGFISHER. 171

Carter, near Chichester, in May 1829, and is mentioned by
Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 219). The second, which does not seem
to have been recorded in any journal, is thus mentioned in a
note to the ‘ Catalogue of British Birds,’ sold at Godalming
in March 1890 :—“ This rare bird was obtained from a person
who found it on the sea-shore between Arundel and Worthing
in 1838.” The third was shot at Icklesham in August 1834,
but not recorded in the ‘ Zoologist’ till 1850 (p. 2953). It
was mounted by Mr. Martin, of Hastings, and purchased by
Mr. Ellman, from whom it passed into my collection.

The Bee-eater frequents the South of Europe, and breeds,
often in large numbers together, in holes in banks, or sand-
hills, excavating them to the depth of three or four feet,
enlarging them into a chamber of about a foot in diameter,
and lays on the bare soil. The legs and wing-cases of the
insects on which it feeds, which are the castings of the
bird, accumulate in such quantities that a handful may be
taken up at once. It feeds on humble-bees, wasps, grass-
hoppers, and many kinds of beetles. Its flight resembles
that of the Swallow, and its note has been described as a
rich warbling chirp. (See Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ vol. ii.
pp. 421-2.)

ALCEDINIDZ.

KINGFISHER.

Alcedo ispida.

TxovueH rather local, the Kingfisher is found throughout the
county, following the courses of the streams and haunting
the large ponds of the forest and Weald, visiting as well the

172 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

small pits which are scattered about the county. Its flight
is exceedingly rapid. It feeds principally on small fresh-
water fish, for which it may often be seen watching, perched
on an overhanging bough, and is then very confiding. I
have known it to sit for some time on a fishing-rod stuck
into a bank close to me; on perceiving a fish, it will dash
down and seize it, generally by the middle, and either carry
it off, or swallow it head first.

It often hovers over the water for a few seconds before
descending on the fish. It is partial to little drains in the
salt-marshes near the sea, where it follows the ebbing tides,
and pounces on the small Crustacea which it finds there. I
have now and then seen it in Shoreham Harbour, or flying
across the beach between that and the sea. It also feeds on
water-beetles, dragonflies, and other insects. Occasionally,
it appropriates the deserted hole of a water-rat, from one of
which I dug a nest, close to the Hammer Pond, near Horsham,
sometimes very little above the surface of the water, but
more commonly it excavates one itself in a bank, sometimes in
in a dry sand-pit, and only large enough to admit itself, and
from two, to five or six, feet deep, sloping upwards, and ter-
minating in a small chamber. There it forms a cup-shaped
nest of its own castings of fish-bones, which smell abominably ;
the passage to the nest being always, after the hatching of
the young, flowing with putrid matter, and swarming with
fleas. The note is shrill and piping, uttered as it follows the
windings of the stream, or flies up and down a pond. The
young assemble on a branch overhanging the water, while
waiting for their food, and they then keep up a shrill twitter-
ing. In confinement, the Kingfisher is very pugnacious.
The feathers are in great request for making artificial flies,
and, from the brilliancy of its plumage, it is a favourite orna-
ment in the head-dresses of the ladies, whence its numbers
are rapidly diminishing. In some of the Sussex farmhouses

KINGFISHER.—GREEN WOODPECKER. 173

one of these birds may be seen suspended by a string from
the ceiling, the idea being that the bill always points in the
direction of the wind.

PICIDA.

GREEN WOODPECKER,

Gecinus viridis.

Tus, the largest and commonest of the British species, is
found wherever there is old timber, frequenting the outer
edges of the woods and the open glades, rather than the
thicker portions, as well as the scattered trees of our parks.
It climbs with great facility, and diligently searches the
crevices in the bark of the trunk and the large limbs. It
bores a truly circular hole, deep into the timber, in which it
lays its eggs on the rotten wood and those chips which are
not thrown out, forming no other nest.

Notwithstanding its large size and its powerful bill, it is
often dispossessed by the Starling. In the summer it may
frequently be seen on the ground, probing with its long tongue
the nests of the ants; its motions then resemble those of a
Parrot. I have several times watched both the old birds and
their young thus employed. Its flight is undulating, and in
passing from tree to tree it utters a loud laughing cry, in
some degree like the neighing of a horse, and on this account
it has acquired the name of “Yaffil.” It is also, from its
uttering it most frequently in stormy weather, known as the
“Rain Bird.” It is very harmless, seldom attacking the-
sounder parts of the wood. When perforating the tree, its
tail may be observed to be constantly twisting round and
round, as if polishing the surface of the wood,

174 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKER.

Dendrocopus major.

Tis species is not nearly so abundant as the last, but may
be met with occasionally where there are pollard trees, par-
ticularly the willow and alder, not affecting the large timber
so much as G. viridis. It is fond of fruit as well as of nuts,
beech-mast, and other seeds. Insects, however, are its prin-
cipal food, and for them it may be heard constantly striking
the higher branches, to which it chiefly confines itself. It bores
holes about two inches in diameter, sometimes to a great
depth, and, if the tree is suitable, it may be found regularly
riddled with them, and the ground strewn with the chips.

It has several distinct notes, and is very vociferous in the
spring. It usually forms its nesting-place in a hole of its
own making, but occasionally uses any suitable hollow, lay-
ing its eggs on the decayed wood and chips.

It receives an accession from abroad in December. Of
this, a remarkable instance occurred in the neighbourhood
of Brighton in that month of 1889, when the visitors even
entered the gardens in the town, and were found in many
parts of the Weald, not usually frequented by them. I am
not aware that it has any local name.

LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER.

Dendrocopus minor.

From its very small size, and from its predilection, except in
the breeding-season, for lofty trees, especially the elm, this
bird, though more generally diffused than D. mejor, is much

LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER.—WRYNECK. 175

more rarely seen, and, were it not for the constant jarring of
the bill against the branches, might altogether escape notice.
In the breeding-season, although it probably nests in the
higher parts of trees as well, it occasionally makes its hole
quite low down in a fruit-tree, and sometimes close to a
dwelling, and this, as might be expected, is very small, little
exceeding an inch and a quarter in diameter. Its food con-
sists entirely of insects, and I have never scen it on the
ground. It has aloud note, resembling kink, kink, often
repeated, as it sits upright on the topmost shoot of a tree.
It does not seem to have any local name in this county.

WRYNECK.
Lynx torquilla.

Arrivine in April a little before the Cuckoo, the Wryneck
has obtained the name of the “ Cuckoo’s Mate,” and its note,
much resembling that of the Kestrel, is one of the earliest
to be heard. It is also called in Sussex the “ Peel Bird”
or “ Rinding Bird,” from its giving notice that it is time to
commence the flaying of the oak bark. It has acquired the
name of Wryneck, from the peculiar habit of sunning itself
on the point of a branch, and contorting its neck in an extra-
ordinary manner, pointing its bill straight up, and ruffling
up its feathers. It feeds entirely on insects, and, like the
Green Woodpecker, is fond of collecting the ants and their
eggs, by means of the adhesive secretion on its tongue. It
never makes any nest, but lays its eggs on the rotten wood in
anatural hole, frequently in some fruit-tree. In one instance
a friend of mine amused himself by taking one egg every
morning till he had obtained no less than twenty-two *.

* It is curious that the same number was taken by Mr. Salmon (vide
Mag. Nat. Hist. vii. pp. 465, 466),

176 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX,

Though a weak and defenceless bird, it is very tenacious of
its abode, repelling any attack on it with a loud, snake-like
hissing, and from this, and from the contortions of its neck, it
has acquired the further title of the “ Snake-bird.” Its flight
is not undulating, but straight, like that of the Finches.
Although the feet are formed like those of the Woodpecker,
it is seldom seen to climb, and the feathers of the tail are
soft and flexible.

COLUMBZ.

COLUMBID.

RING-DOVE.

Columba palumbus.

Tur Ring-Dove is generally known as the Wood-Pigeon, and
is very common, and strictly monogamous. It inhabits the
woods, but in the breeding-season often comes into gardens,
and is then very tame, walking about on lawns close to
houses. One has often come within a few feet of me when
I have been sitting perfectly quiet, though at other times it
is very wild, watchful, and difficult to get a shot at. It
builds a mere platform of small sticks, so slightly put together
that the eggs may sometimes be seen from below.

It breeds very early, and very late. I have shot young
birds in October that could merely fly from tree to tree.
The usual site of the nest is in thick ivy on the trunk of a
tree, but I have in two instances observed it in ivy against a
house. It often nests in a thick fir, particularly spruce.

The note is well described in Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ by

RING-DOVE.—STOCK-DOVE. 177

the syllables “ coo-roo-c3é-c66,” laying great stress on the
second.

It is fond of gooseberries, but its usual food is beech-mast,
acorns, and corn, as well as turnips, to which it does great
harm by scooping out the pulp, leaving large holes, thus
admitting the water, and causing the roots to decay. It eats
the seeds of many noxious weeds, particularly those of the
kelk, or charlock (Sinapis arvensis), and is very fond of those
of the buttercup (Ranunculus acris), as well as of the berries
of the holly and the yew.

In the breeding-season it has a peculiarly buoyant flight,
rising and falling in the air in a series of arcs.

STOCK-DOVE.

Columba enas.

Tue name Stock-Dove has been supposed to be derived from
the mistaken idea that this species is the origin of the
domestic pigeon, which however is not the case, but it has
been given to this bird from its breeding, not in the branches,
but in the stock of a tree, placing its nest, composed of
sticks, in holes of large timber, especially of the beech. It
breeds in those of St. Leonards Forest, one of which I found
tenanted by the Brown Owl in the middle, the Stock-Dove
higher up, and the Jackdaw highest of all. I have also
known it to build in Spanish chestnut, pollard oak, and fir
trees, in the Parks of Petworth, West Grinstead, Parham,
and Stanmer, also among the ivy on a tree at Barrow Hill,
Henfield. A pair bred for several years in a thick mass of
it on my own house at Cowfold, and thence, on the ivy dying
away, they removed to that on an oak tree about a hundred
yards off. A pair also have long bred just below a window
N

178 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

in front of the house at Oakendean, in the same parish, as well
as in holes in the elms of the rookery there, and in some ash
pollards near the house. Its food is similar to that of the Ring-
Dove. Gilbert White says that it is particularly partial to
barley.

Mr. Booth, in his ‘Rough Notes,’ states that he found
young Stock-Doves in a Squirrel’s drey, in Balcombe Forest,
and that they resort to rabbit burrows in the slopes of the
South Downs, and to holes in the face of the chalk pits of
Beeding and Offham. Mr. Jeffery, in his P. N., says that
it breeds in Stoke Park, and in the old yew trees at Kingly
Vale.

It is of late years much more diffused over the county than
formerly, assembling in large flocks in the winter. It does
not coo, but utters a prolonged rumbling sound.

Mr. J. H. Gurney, in Transactions of the Norfolk and
Norwich Naturalists’ Society, vol. ui. p. 172, says :—‘The
Stock-Dove breeds in the cliffs of Fairlight. I was sure of
this in 1879, having frequently seen Pigeons fly out of the
cliffs, but could never be certain if they were Stock-Doves
or Tame Pigeons; but this year Isaw them near enough to
be qnite certain about them, and should say that there were
three or four pair nesting between the Glen of Ecclesbourne
and the Glen of Fairlight. At Hurstmonceaux Castle, where
they also breed, and where there is a large garden, I am told
they do great harm to the young cabbages.”

ROCK-DOVE.

Columba livia.

I povsr whether the Rock-Dove ever breeds in Sussex, the
deep caves agreeable to its habits not existing in our cliffs.

ROCK-DOVE—TURTLE-DOVE, 179

It has been obtained very rarely. I can only give the follow-
ing instances :—Mr. Ellman informed me that one was shot
by Mr. Vidler, near Pevensey, in February 1852. Mr. Dutton
records another shot near Bell Tout Lighthouse, in January
1865, and a third at Holywell, near Hastings (‘ Zoologist,’
p. 9578). I found them abundant on the coast of co. Mayo,
and had an opportunity of observing the marvellous rapidity
of their flight when dashing out of the caves in the rocks of
that iron-bound coast. This species is considered to be the
progenitor of the domestic Pigeon.

TURTLE-DOVE.

Turtur communis.

Tuis beautiful Dove is migratory, appearing in May and
leaving us early in October. It breeds in the underwoods of
our copses .and shaws, and lays its eggs on a platform of
small sticks so loosely constructed that they may often be
seen through it, and seldom at any great height from the
ground. It is very fond of salt, and may often be observed
in little flocks on the salt-marshes. Feeding on corn, it after
the harvest frequents the stubbles, and is especially fond of
tares. Its note may be expressed by the syllables “ ctirr curr.”
Its flight is very rapid. On its first arrival seven or eight
may occasionally be seen together, and they assemble in the
latter part of September in still larger numbers, a few days
before they take their departure.

N2

180 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

PEDIOPHIULI
PTEROCLID.

PALLAS’S SAND-GROUSE.

Syrrhaptes paradoxus.

Tuis straggler from the Steppes of Asia made its first appear-
ance in Britain, on the coast of Norfolk, in July 1859; the
great invasion, however, did not take place till 1863, and the
Sand-Grouse did not arrive in Sussex till that year, though
one was killed so near as New Romney in Kent in November
1859 (Ibis, 1864, p.186). The flight is extremely swift, and
the note is described as resembling the words “ truck-truck,
truck-truck”’; the food consists of small’seeds and berries.
Mr. Parkin, of Halton, Hastings, in his P. N., says that a
specimen was caught in the parish of Icklesham, at the
Camber Sandbanks, in July 1863, by a son of Lieut. Webb,
of the Coastguard, and was stuffed by Mr. Gasson, of Rye.
I was informed by Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, that a flock of
about thirty were seen for some days in June 1888, flying to
and fro from the Downs to the beach; they were very wild,
and no one could get within shot of them. He also said that
on June 20th two were shot near Falmer, and a solitary bird
on the beach at Shoreham on the 8th of November ; all these
examples were seut to him for preservation. Mr. Jeffery
tells me that a Sand-Grouse was obtained at Itchenor, near
Chichester, in February 1889. In the ‘Zoologist’ (p. 8682)
we read of a specimen having been shot by Mr. Pickard, of
Woodward Farm, Balcombe, in June 1863, from the crop of
which a spoonful of small seeds was taken; and of another,
supposed to be a female, shot out of a flock of seven or eight

PALLAS’S SAND-GROUSE.—BLACK GROUSE. 181

near Eastbourne. (Recorded in the ‘Field’ by Mr.C. S.
White, but without date.) On p. 8683 it is mentioned that
a specimen was killed by coming in contact with the telegraph-
wire on August 29th, and was purchased by Mr. Vidler, of
Pevensey. It was a female, and its crop contained a little of
a peculiar grass which grows by the salt water “ells,” i. e.
small pools, no doubt derived from the Latin palus. It
afterwards came into my possession. Mr. Vidler had seen a
party of eight, dusting in the road, a few days previously, but
they disappeared before he could get his gun.

The eggs of this bird were brought to Professor Newton
by Mr. Bateson, who found them on the Kirgiz Steppes, where
he saw many nests, which were chiefly placed in hoof-prints.

GALLINEA.

TETRAONIDZ.
BLACK GROUSE.

Tetrao tetrix.

Tue Black Cock and Grey Hen, which were formerly found
in scattered parties in the Forest Districts of Sussex, are, I
fear, now nearly extinct.

In the Forest of St. Leonards none have been heard of for
the last forty years, though, from Mr. Padwick, of Horsham,
I learn that his father once shot five or six brace in a morn-
ing, in a part of the forest known as Coombe Bottom, between
1835 and 1840. I myself shot an old Black Cock in Lower
Beeding parish about 1849; it was alone, and had been
observed for some time.

182 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

It is very possible that birds might have strayed over the
Sussex border from Wolmer Forest, where their numbers
have been replenished since the time of Gilbert White by Sir
Charles Taylor, when he was the Ranger of the forest *. More
likely still, from Leith Hill in Surrey, where, about 1832, I
saw as many as twenty old cocks in a pack, and have often
put them up in smaller numbers. In Ashdown Forest, they
seem to have lingered somewhat later, as, from inquiries
made in that district, I learn that two or three pairs were
seen up to about 1862 near Duddleswell and Pippinford,
almost the highest part of that range. In that same year,
1862, Myr. Turner, then Rector of Maresfield, wrote as
follows :—“ Ashdown Forest was well stocked with Black
Game. So numerous were these birds at the commencement
of the present century, that it was hardly possible to walk or
ride in any direction without disturbing some of them. At
that time the forest was thickly covered with heath, but this
has been so generally cleared that the Black Game, being de-
prived of the food and shelter they so much delight in, have
gradually disappeared’? (vide ‘Sussex Archeological Col-
lections,’ vol. xiv. p. 62). Markwick merely states that he
has seen this species in St. Leonards Forest, near Horsham.
Mr. Knox, in O. R. p. 164, mentions having seen a few near
Crawley, but that they were fast decreasing in numbers.

In the ‘ Zoologist,” p. 3830, Mr. Ellman records that a
Grey Hen was caught in a wire by one of the “ slippery gentle-
men rovers of the night,” and the cock bird seen, about five
miles from Lewes, October 30th, 1851.

The Black Grouse feeds on corn, heath, whortleberries, and
blackberries, and, in severe weather, on buds of the willow
and birch, and the tips of the fir. It makes a slight nest

* There is no reason to suppose that they were extinct in the time of
Gilbert White.

BLACK GROUSE.— PHEASANT. 183

generally on a bank, under shelter of a tuft of heath or small
bush. Its favourite resorts were the most boggy parts of
the forest, and it seemed to require a good supply of water.

Mr. Stewart Hodgson, of Lythe House, Haslemere, writing
in May 1890, informs me that he had not seen any Black
Game on Black Down, which is in Sussex, except an old cock,
which he killed in the winter of 1870, for several years. He
kindly sent me a letter dated May 15th, 1890, from Mr.
James Simmons, of Haslemere, in which he states that a
brace were put up on Black Down this last season by the
hounds, and that they were the last he had seen. Mr.
Hodgson informs me also that many years since, Sir Charles
Taylor, then of Hollycombe, had a number of Black Grouse
from Scotland turned out, but they got away to the highest
part of Hind Head, that they lived some years, seeming
healthy, but never breeding, and that he also remembers that
Mr. James Fielding turned a number out on Black Down in
1840 with the same result. They have been of late years
much disturbed by the military. Mr. Allen Chandler, of
Churt Wynd, Farnham, states that he last saw Black Game
on Black Down about ten years ago.

PHASIANID 4.

PHEASANT.
Phasianus colchicus.

Ture is an ancient tradition that the Pheasant was originally
introduced into Greece by the Argonauts, on their return
from their expedition in search of the Golden Fleece, whence:
it gradually spread over Europe, and there is reason to sup-
pose that it was introduced into England by the Romans.

184 . THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

It is now so crossed with the Chinese Ring-necked species.
(P. torquatus) that it is extremely difficult to obtain a speci-
men of the pure Colchican bird. That it was here before the
Norman Conquest appears certain, and the earliest record
may be found in the tract ‘De inventione Sancte Crucis
Nostre in Monte Acuto et de ductione ejusdem apud
Waltham, edited froma MS. in the British Museum by
Bishop Stubbs, and published in 1861. The bill of fare
drawn up by Harold for the Canons’ households of from six
to seven persons, A.D. 1059, and preserved in a MS. of the
date of circa 1177, was as follows :—“Erant autem tales
pitantiz unicuique canonico: a festo Sancti Michaelis, usque
ad caput jejunii (Ash Wednesday), aut xii merule, aut ii
agansee [Agace, a magpie (?) Ducange], aut ii perdices, aut
unus phasianus, reliquis temporibus aut ance [Geese; Du-
cange], aut galline.” Which may be thus translated :—
Such were the allowances to each Canon from Michaelmas
day to the beginning of the fast, Ash Wednesday: either
twelve blackbirds, or two magpies, or two partridges, or one
pheasant, at other times either geese or fowls. “Now the
point of this passage is that it shows that Phasianus colchicus
had become naturalized in Ingland before the Norman
invasion; and as the English and Danes were not the intro-
ducers of strange animals in any well authenticated case, it
offers fair presumptive evidence that it was introduced by the
Roman conquerors, who naturalized the Fallow Deer in
Britain.” See Professor Boyd Dawkins, ‘ Ibis’ 1869, p. 358.

The first mention of the Pheasant, after the Conquest, may
be found in Dugdale’s ‘ Monasticon Anglicanum.’ In the
first year of Henry I., a.p. 1100, “The Abbot of Amesbury
obtained a licence to kill Pheasants.” In Mr. Dresser’s
*‘ Birds of Europe’ (vol. vii. p. 87) it is stated that in the
time of Edward I. Pheasants were sold at 8d. a brace.

The earliest mention I have met with of Pheasants in

PHEASANT. 185

.. Sussex is, that in 1245 the Custos of the Bishopric of
Chichester was ordered to send to the King for his use at
Easter among other game, twenty-four Pheasants (see Sussex
Archeological Collections, vol. xvii. p. 118). There are now
many large preserves in the county, and Pheasants are spread
over it in all suitable places. As a rule they roost in high
trees, but if disturbed they will not rise from the ground
again the same night, concealing themselves under some thick
bush till morning.

A clap of thunder, or any violent explosion, will cause all
cock Pheasants within hearing to crow. They are poly-
gamous, and their usual nesting-place is on the ground,
though, in a few instances, they have been known to take to
the deserted nest of a crow, or the.drey of a squirrel.

They will, not unfrequently, breed with the Domestic Fowl,
and when the Black Grouse was to be found in Sussex, there
have been a few instances of their crossing with it. The hen
Pheasant has been often found to lay its eggs in the nest of
the Partridge.

In the nuptial season the cocks fight desperately, so much
so that I once witnessed a fierce and prolonged combat, which
resulted in the death of one, and the retirement of the other
in a very dilapidated state; the former I picked up and
carried home.

The Pheasant feeds on insects and their larvee, particularly
on the wire-worm, and on corn, peas, and acorns. It also
digs up and eats the roots of many plants, and, in gardens,
is very destructive to tulips and crocuses. Numerous berries
also form a large portion of its diet. It is very fond
of the fruit of the snowberry, Symphoria racemosa, and of
that of the Berberis acuifolia, and much appreciates salt. It
is subject to great variation of plumage, white and pied birds
being often met with. The variety called Bohemian is found
in a few preserves.

186 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

COMMON PARTRIDGE.

Perdix cinerea.

Tux Partridge is very common, and is too generally known to
require much notice. It is indigenous, and pairs for the
season in February. The nest is formed of grass, placed in
any depression of the ground, in rough hedgerows, or open
fields of corn or long grass. It sits very close, and when the
young are hatched the hen is very anxious for their safety,
fluttering about as if wounded, but always in so artful a
manner as to be able to escape as soon as the pursuer has
been enticed away from her brood, and they have had time to
disperse in all directions. There may occasionally be found
a whole covey in which the horse-shoe mark on the breast is
white, instead of chestnut; and I once met -with a covey of
eight, every bird of which was of a light fawn colour, with
very slight rudiments of the horse-shoe mark, and shot a brace
of them, which I still have.

Should there be a strong breeze from the north, the sports-
man on the coast refrains from shooting, the Partridges being
liable to fly out to sea, where, in several instances, a whole
covey has been picked up by the fishermen.

I quote the following :—“ While walking on the Marine
Parade at Brighton on Friday last, about two o’clock, I was
surprised to see a small covey of Partridges dash across the
esplanade, coming apparently from the direction of the sea,
and seemingly quite bewildered, and take refuge in the areas
of the houses on the Parade. Some workmen close by lost no
time in securing them alive. It appears to me that the birds
must have made an amazingly long flight to have come into
such a central part of the town. I never saw such a thing
before.” (‘ Field,’ Oct. 22, 1880.)

COMMON PARTRIDGE.—RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. 187

During the Brighton Volunteer Review, Partridges, alarmed
by the movements of the troops, have flown out to sea and
alighted on the water, being picked up by fishermen in their
boats. (‘ Field,’ December 23, 1882.)

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE.
Caccabis rufa.

Tuts bird, generally known in Sussex as the French Partridge,
is said to have been introduced into England about 1770, but
was very rare in this county, a few being now and then met
with on the Downs, which were considered by sportsmen to
have immigrated from the Continent.* For a long time they
did not spread to the Weald.

Mr. Knox mentions that two coveys were hatched and
reared under domestic Hens, and turned down at Kirdford,
near Petworth, in July 1841, which suddenly disappeared
(O. R. p. 169). In September of the same year a covey of
five were found at Bolney, a brace of which were shot and
sent to me, by Mr. Marshall, of that place. Since that year
they have rapidly spread over the whole of the Weald, and
are considered a nuisance by sportsmen, as they spoil the
dogs by running long distances, and then getting up out of
shot. The flesh is not much esteemed for the table. They,
however, offer excellent sport when driven by a large party
of beaters. They nest in similar situations to those chosen
by the common species, using the same materials. Their

* I have heard that a number of these birds were turned out by one of
the Curzons of Parham, on the South Downs, many years ago, but I can-
not ascertain the date. It is very improbable that they migrated from
the North of France, as the species is hardly to be found there.

188 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX,

call-note resembles the sharpening of a scythe—“ chuck,
chuck, chucker-chucker.’ The Grey Partridge says ‘‘ ker-
chup, kerchup, kerchup.”

There is a remarkable difference in the habit of the two
species. Ifa pair of Grey Partridges be made to run, they
will always keep together, but a pair of Frenchmen, under
similar circumstances, will always separate.

QUAIL.

Coturnix communis.

Tuis little bird was formerly considered a spring-immigrant
only, but as there have been many instances of its occurrence
in the winter months, that idea must now be abandoned. Its
principal haunts are the South Downs, where the nest is still
occasionally found, but not so abundantly as formerly, when
bevies of them were often met with in the corn-fields and
turnips, both on the Downs and in those immediately adjoin-
ing them. It occurs but rarely in the heart of the Weald,
and then in September and October. When put up it flies
close to the ground, and if missed by the sportsman it is
exceedingly difficult to flush it a second time. Its flight is
then exceedingly rapid, and in a straight line; but it seldom
flies to any great distance. It is partial also to wet’ and
rushy marsh-land, and runs very swiftly. The call-note (“wet-
my-lips”) is soft and dactylic, whence one of its specific
names was dactylisonans. It may be heard to a considerable
distance. Its nest is on the ground, and in the few instances
in which it has been found on the Weald it has been in
fields of wheat, clover, or grass put up for hay. Many years
ago my father-in-law turned down several dozen on a farm

QUAIL.—LANDRAIL. 189

not far from the Downs, but never after fell in with one of
them. The males are exceedingly pugnacious, and were by
our ancestors much prized for exhibition in the Cock-pit.
The Quail is largely imported from the Continent, for the
table. It feeds on slugs and small seeds, and when properly
fed becomes exceedingly fat. Mr. Jeffery, in his P. N., men-
tions a Quail killed at Selsey on the Ist of November, 1863,
and another near Chichester on the Ist of February, 1866.

FULICARIA.

RALLIDZ.
LANDRAIL.

Crea pratensis.

Tur Landrail, or Corn Crake, arrives in April, or early in
May, when its note, which may be imitated by drawing the
fingers rapidly over the teeth of a comb, may be heard in the
meadows and fields of corn and of clover, for which latter it
has a peculiar liking, probably because Helix caperata
abounds there. I have frequently found broken shells of
this species, and occasionally a whole one, in the gizzard.
The nest is a mere depression in the ground, lined with dry
herbage.

In September this species is usually met with singly or in
pairs, and when flushed it is very difficult to make it rise a
second time. Should it get to a hedge it will often, when
pressed by a dog, climb up intothe bushes. I once happened
to see a Landrail close to my foot, in some thick grass, and
it allowed me to pick it up, and, to my surprise, appeared

190 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

perfectly dead, though I could not see the slightest appearance
of its having been injured, and it was quite warm. I held it
by the legs, and, on swinging it about, the neck was perfectly
limp, and its eyes were closed. I then put it on its back on
my hand, and it remained motionless. I laid it down on a
foot-path and watched it for some five minutes, when I saw
it open one of its eyes, and almost immediately it ran into
the long grass, and, though the dog tried for it a long time,
Inever saw it again. Since that, I found a notice of a Land-
rail behaving in exactly the same way, in the ‘ Zoologist’
(p. 218 s.s.), Late in September they flock together for
emigration. A brother sportsman, and I, once shot four
brace and a half, in one clover field, and saw several more,
but, the clover being very wet, the dogs could not hunt
them, and they would not rise. I have known several
instances in April, of their having been, caught in the
gardens of Brighton, and I remember one being picked up
on the Chain Pier. Mr. Ellman records in ‘ Zoologist’
(p. 2419) that one was shot, and another seen, near the
coast just before Christmas 1849, and a third was seen
on the Downs near Eastbourne by Mr. Clark Kennedy in
November.

SPOTTED CRAKE.

Porzana maruetta.

Tue Spotted Crake arrives in March, and as a rule leaves us
in October, but it has now and then been met with in the
winter. I shot one myself on Henfield Common in December
1845. It is considered rather a rare bird ; though, from its
skulking habits, requiring a good dog to flush it, I imagine

SPOTTED CRAKE.—LITTLE CRAKE. 191

it to be more common than is supposed. I have often found
it, when Snipe-shooting, on Henfield Common, especially in
October, though I have never met with, or heard of, the nest
in Sussex.

I have often shot the adult bird in the county, and on two
occasions, in September, obtained an immature example on
the aforesaid Common. It principally resorts to wet and
boggy places, where it conceals itself among the thickest
herbage, and feeds on mollusks, water-insects, and small
seeds, particularly those of the reed. It also frequents the
weedy banks of streams and large ponds. The nest is built on
wet ground, formed of aquatic plants and some finer materials.

LITTLE CRAKE.
Porzana parva.

As the greater number of examples of this species which have
been met with in England have occurred in April or May, it
may be presumed to be migratory, and from its frequenting
similar situations, its food and habits are probably the same
as those of its congeners.

The bird described by Markwick as the Spotted Gallinule,
in Trans. Linn. Soc. (vol. iv. p. 9), which was shot by the
side of a mill-pond at Catsfield, near Battle, in March 1791,
turns out to have been the Little Crake, Porzana parva, of
Yarrell. This interesting fact has lately been made known
by Mr. Harting (Zoologist, 1890, pp. 343-344), in a notice of
an unpublished manuscript by Markwick, now in the library
of the Linnean Society, where there is also a coloured figure
representing Porzana parva.

Two specimens have come into my own possession. The
first was taken alive near Beeding chalk-pit, on the banks of

192 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

the Adur, near Shoreham, in October 1855. The second was
obtained in the following remarkable manner :—Two men,
one only having a gun, were hunting for Moorhens, on the
14th of April 1869, in some reedy brick-pits near Eastbourne,
with a spaniel. The man without a gun staying behind, the
dog routed out a Little Crake, which flew towards him. He
threw his “ wide-awake ” hat at it, whereon the bird followed
it down and ran into it, and he took it alive. I soon after pur-
chased it of Mr. Bates, the Naturalist, of Eastbourne. It is
recorded in Yarrell’s B. B. (vol. iii. p. 149). A fourth example
is mentioned by Mr. Knox as in the possession of the landlord
of the Dolphin Hotel, Shoreham, who shot it in that neigh-
bourhood (O. R. 240). A fifth was picked up, in an exhausted
state, near Seaford in March 1848, and brought to Mr.
Ellman (Zoologist, p. 2148). A sixth was brought for pre-
servation to Mr. Kent, a bird-stuffer at Hastings, in April
1859, p. 6537 ; and Mr. Dutton mentions a seventh, caught
in Pevensey Marsh, in 1862, and seen by him in the flesh
(Zoologist, p. 8330).

BAILLON’S CRAKE.

Porzana bailloni.

Tux only example of this rare Crake which has occurred in
Sussex is thus recorded in the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 4159, 8.8.) by
Captain Clark Kennedy, while staying at Eastbourne :—“ An
adult female was captured in this neighbourhood, on the sixth
of August 1874, in a very exhausted and emaciated condition.
It contained in its ovary eggs about the size of pins’ heads.”

WATER-RAIL. 198

WATER-RAIL.

Rallus aquaticus.

Tur Water-Rail is generally distributed, and may be found
in the coarse herbage bordering streams and ditches. It is
resident, though it seems very susceptible of cold, as I have
several times, in very severe weather, observed it standing on
one leg, with its feathers puffed out, and its head sunk
between its shoulders, apparently asleep, for it has suffered
me to take it in my hand. It feeds on small fish, tadpoles,
mollusks, insects, and seeds. When pressed by a dog it often
scrambles up into a bush, and I once observed a wounded one
walking on the horizontal limb of an oak about 20 feet from
the ground. From the gizzard I took several perfect speci-
mens of Clausilia nigricans and the broken shells of Aplexus
hypnorum. Its flight is slow, the legs hanging down. I
once found a nest, in a very wet spot on Henfield Common,
- composed of green flags, and lined with finer aquatic plants,
containing nine eggs. It has many times, in April and
October, been caught in the gardens and streets of Brighton.
Its call-note is a loud, hoarse, half-choked whistle, uttered
principally at night.

It runs very swiftly, and swims well, if requisite. Mr.
Jeffery (P. N.) states that he has found several small Millers’
Thumbs (Cotius gobio) in its interior, and also mentions that
a nest was found near Up Park, on a heath at a distance
from water, pretty well concealed, but having a run to and
from it. Mr. Harting informs me that he has twice found
the nest of the Water-Rail in the parish of Harting, where
he has repeatedly seen the bird during the winter months,
sometimes running, like a rat, along the side of a ditch; at

others, flushed by the dogs in the swampy ground bordering
o

194 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

the Great Pond. Mr. Harper, of Norwich, says that he had
found in one of these birds a full-grown Common Shrew
(Zoologist, p. 2990), and in p. 215, 1882, is recorded an
instance of its feigning death.

MOORHEN.

Gallinula chloropus.

Tuts, also known as the Waterhen, is the commonest of all
the Rallide, and there is scarcely a pond or stream in the
county where it may not be found. Though somewhat wary,
it is not nearly so much given to concealment as its con-
geners, and swims and dives with the greatest facility.

It often visits ponds in the neighbourh6od of houses, and
becomes occasionally very tame, even feeding with the
domestic fowls. At Cowfold Vicarage several of these birds
would come regularly, on hearing the bell at meal-times, to
pick up whatever was thrown from the window, and were
especially fond of boiled potatoes. I have seen one actually
sitting on the back of a large dog lying on the doorstep there.
It was very remarkable that this dog, though it would eagerly
hunt the Moorhens in other places, was on the best of terms
with those of the Vicarage, and never molested them. They
will often wander about the meadows on the borders of
streams and ponds, in search of worms, &c. They also feed
on various insects and small fish. The nest is generally
placed in the flags, or coarse herbage by the side of water,
or on the branches of a tree overhanging it. I have found
it, too, on the heads of pollards by the water-side, and once
in the deserted nest of a Magpie, in a thick hawthorn, some
ten feet fromthe ground. A Moorhen bred for several years

MOORHEN. 195

on the head of an old weeping willow, which had fallen into
the pond at the aforesaid Vicarage. The nest is generally
formed of coarse aquatic plants, and lined with softer portions
of the same, but I knew of one placed on a stack of pease
haulm, of which material it was entirely composed.

In walking, the bird constantly flirts up the tail, showing
the white feathers, as it also does when swimming, nodding
its head at every stroke of its feet. Its flight is heavy and
slow, with the feet hanging down, and is seldom extended to
any great distance, but at night it often flies round in large
circles, uttering from time to time a loud note resembling
the syllables, “ tak-a-ma-hak.”” In severe weather it takes
to running water, and often seeks for worms, &c., among the
dry leaves, proceeding up the ditches into the wider woods.
It perches at times on trees, and climbs the bushes with the
greatest ease. When suddenly disturbed, it will sink bodily
in the water, and, after a little while, a patient watcher may
see the head and neck raised above the surface, and, looking
round, the bird will rise suddenly and take itself off.

The curious so-called “ hairy” variety of the Moorhen has
twice occurred in Sussex, and the specimens are recorded by
Mr. J. H. Gurney in the Transactions of the Norfolk and
Norwich Naturalists’ Society, vol. iii. pp. 581-587, in which
he also gives a figure. One of these was obtained at Plump-
ton, near Brighton, in November 1878, of which Mr. Gurney
observes : “ This is the lightest I have seen, the underparts
being quite white, and the back a bright orange-red, and this
is the most hair-like.” I saw this specimen myself at Mr.
Swaysland’s. The other was obtained at Isfield, near Lewes,
in March 1883, and was purchased by Colonel King. The
peculiarity of the appearance of the birds is due to the loss
of the cuticle of the plumage, carrying with it the bar-
bicules which give the soft look to feathers, and so leaving
a worn threadbare surface; but from what cause this decor-

02

196 ~THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

tication arises is wholly unknown. The colour of some speci-
mens in this state is much tinged with yellow.

COOT.
Fulica atra.

From the white plate on the forehead, I have heard the Coot
called the Bald Coot. It is by no means uncommon in

Sussex, but much more maritime than the others of its

family, keeping to the open sea in large flocks, in quiet

weather, but when it is rough, betaking itself to our harbours

and estuaries for shelter. As the breeding-season approaches,

it comes inland to many of the large ponds, preferring those

abounding in reeds; there it forms a large semi-floating nest

of flags and broken reeds, on a platform of the latter, that

have been broken down by the wind. Sometimes, when the

water is shallow, it builds its nest,up from the bottom, occa-

sionally collecting a very large mass, raising it still higher on

the approach of a flood. When wounded, the Coot requires

careful handling, as it will scratch like a cat. On the wing

the flight is powerful, the legs being stretched out behind it

like those of a Heron. They feed on many fish and on vege-

tables. I have often watched the old birds from the Covered

Bridge at Lucerne, where they are very tame, diving and

bringing up green weeds for the young from. the. bottom of
the lake. The water being exceedingly clear, they may be
seen to. use their wings beneath the surface as if in flight.

The Coot is not much esteemed in England for the table,

but many are exposed for sale in Continental markets,

though the flesh is very strong and oily; yet, if carefully

prepared, and buried for a few hours in the ground, it is by”
no means unpalatable, being very white and juicy.

COOT.—CRANE, 197

The Coot flies much at night, like the Wild Duck, but the
two present a very different appearance on the wing, even
when it is too dark to distinguish colour. Both fly with
out-stretched necks, but the shorter-winged Coot, with
longer legs, carried out behind like a tail, may always be
distinguished from the sharper-winged and longer-necked
Duck.

ALECTORIDES.

GRUIDZ.
CRANE.
Grus communis.

Tuovucu formerly not uncommon, the Crane has now become
arare straggler. In the good old days of Falconry, and before
the draining of the Fens, it bred freely in this country, and
was strictly preserved for that sport. The nest is formed of
jong sedgy grass and very small twigs, placed on the ground.
I have only heard of the occurrence of the Crane in Sussex
on two occasions. One was shot by a butcher of the name of
Geering, in Pevensey Level in May 1849, and was sent to Mr.
Fillman, who recorded it in the ‘Zoologist’ (p. 3034). I
afterwards purchased it from him, and it is still in my collec-
tion. It was a female, though recorded by Mr. Ellman as a
male, and was in good condition, the only shot-mark found
on the skin being that of a single corn, which had passed
through the head. The other example I saw in the flesh the
day after it was shot, at Pagham, October 18th, 1854. This
was also in good condition, and was an immature female, the
élongated plumes on the hinder part being only two or three

198 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

on each side. The neck was much stained with rusty brown.
It is preserved in the museum at Chichester, and recorded
by myself in the ‘ Zoologist ’ (p. 4512).

The taking of the eggs of the Crane was prohibited by an
Act passed in 1534, under the maximum penalty of 20d. for
every egg.

The Crane appears to have been much prized for the table,
as in the ‘ Household Book’ of the fifth Earl of Northum-
berland (1512) occurs this entry: “It is thought the Cranys
must be hadde at Chrystymas and other principal feestes for
my Lord’s owne mees, so they be bought at 15d. a piece.”
Nevertheless, the learned Dr. Mouffet, in his ‘ Health’s Im-
provement,’ edited by Christopher Bennet, Ph.D., 1655,
considers “ the flesh (of the Crane) distinctly unfit for sound
men’s tables, and much more unmeat for them that be sick ;
yet being young, and killed with a Goshawk, and hanged for
two or three daies by the heels, eaten with hot gelentine, and
drowned in sack, it is permitted unto indifferent stomachs,”

The food of the Crane appears to be corn, acorns, fenny
seeds and bents, as well as potatoes. Its flight is described
as with the head and neck fully stretched out, with a re-
markable casting up of the wings in a direction over the
back after each downward stroke. The voice is loud and
trumpet-like. (See an interesting account of the Crane in
Lapland by Mr. John Wolley Junr., ‘Ibis,’ 1859, pp. 191-
198.)

I have two specimens in my own collection, which were
caught in Spain by wire nooses placed in a hole in the ground,
baited with olives. The fat is used by the Spaniards as a
remedy for rheumatism and bruises.

GREAT BUSTARD. 199

OTIDIDA.

GREAT BUSTARD.
Otis tarda.

Tuer Great Bustard was formerly well represented in Sussex.
Dr. John Hill, in his ‘History of Animals,’ published in
1752, writes of this species (p. 483) :—‘“TI have seen great
numbers of them on the downs in Sussex; they run away
at the approach of men, but rarely, and indeed difficultly,
take wing. They are often taken by greyhounds in a fair
course, in the manner of a hare. Their flesh is very well
tasted.” Gilbert White, writing to Daines Barrington from
Ringmer, near Lewes, in October 1770, says :—* There are
Bustards on the wide Downs near Brighthelmstone,” and
remarks that they look at a distance like Fallow Deer; and
Professor Newton tells me that he was much struck by the
justice of the comparison on the only occasion on which he
saw a wild Bustard, with neck extended at right angles to
the body, general “fallow” colour, and legs invisible, so
that there might just as well have been four as two.

The Bustard was often hunted with greyhounds by my
grandfather, who died at an advanced age in 1844. He told
me that he had had many a good course with these birds.
He used to go out early in the morning, after a foggy night,
to look for them feeding in the wet. turnips, when they were
frequently so thoroughly soaked as to be unable to fly. He
generally found them in little parties of from five to ten, and
sometimes took five or six in a morning, commonly young
birds, though occasionally he had known an old one to be
caught, but they avoided them as much as possible, as, when
overtaken by the dogs, they fought savagely, and had more
than once damaged the greyhounds. They were most

200 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

numerous on a part of the Downs between the Dyke and
a place known as Thunder’s Barrow, from certain ancient
tumuli supposed to be British. My father, also, while riding
on the, Downs, about a mile from Patcham, fell in with nine
of these birds feeding in a turnip-field ; this was about the
year 1810. I have heard them spoken of by some of the old
South-down shepherds as having been often seen by them.
Of course the birds then bred there.

Markwick (Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. iv. p. 7) merely re-
marks, “Common Bustard sometimes scen on our South
Downs.” Mr. Knox, in his O. R. (p. 222), says :—“ The latest
instance of the Great Bustard having been observed in Sussex
appears to have been that of a single example which was
occasionally seen about twenty-four years ago near Blatching-
ton by Mr. Catt, who then occupied that farm. It used to
frequent the flat table-land which runs for a considerable dis-
tance in the direction of the Dyke. I have met with some
very old people who in their younger days have seen flocks of
these noble birds on the Downs.” In Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’
(vol. iii. p. 207) we find that on the 14th of January, 1876, a
female was shot on the Downs near Eastbourne, and came into
the possession of Mr. Monk, of Lewes; of course the bird
was a straggler from the Continent. The food of Bustards
is grass, young corn, turnip leaves, trefoil, and other vege-
tables, and they also kill and eat small mammals and reptiles,
as well as, according to Pennant, those large earthworms
which appear in great quantities on the Downs before sun-
rising in the summer. In that season they conceal them-
selves in the standing corn, or in high turnips. They deposit
their eggs in a hole scratched in the ground. Mr. Rowley, in
his Orn. Mise, (vol. i. p. 103), quotes the following from
‘Muszeum Tradescantianum,’ published in 1656, p. 4: “The
Bustard, as big as a Turkey, usually taken by greyhounds on
Newmarket Heath.”

LITTLE BUSTARD. 201

LITTLE BUSTARD.

Otis tetrax.

Tue Little Bustard is a very rare straggler into Sussex,
though in many parts of the Continent it is not uncommon,
particularly in the South of France and in Spain, and at
least seventy specimens have occurred in England.

It feeds on vegetable matter, field-mice and frogs, as well
as on worms and slugs. It runs with great rapidity. I saw
one, near Nimes, whose pace was as fast as that of a rabbit
when first started, and it kept it up across a large piece of
ploughed land till out of sight. The note, in the breeding-
season, resembles the syllables “ prut, prut.’”? This bird is
not polygamous, and places its nest on the ground among
high herbage.

The Little Bustard has been very rarely seen in Sussex,
and does not appear in Markwick’s Catalogue. Mr. Dennis,
in a letter to me, dated December 9th, 1854, says, speaking
of a Little Bustard :—“ It was shot at Cuckmere in October
1846, by a Coastguardsman of the name of Bull, and sold by
him to Mr. King, of East Blatchington, for half-a-crown. The
purehaser, I fancy, was doubtful of it as an edible, and gave
it to a painter of the name of Stent, by whom it was pre-
served.” In March 1854 Mr. Dennis showed me the legs and
feet of this bird, which were all that then remained, the rest
of the specimen having been destroyed by moth. Mr. Knox
(O. R. p. 222) says :—“ I have lately seen a specimen of the
Little Bustard, a female, which was shot at Bosham, near
Chichester, a few years ago, by Mr. Alfred Cheesman ;” and
mentions that Mr. Jenyns, in his ‘Manual of Brit. Vert.
An.,’ states that it has occurred in Sussex, but gives no date.

202 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

Two examples from this county are given in the ‘ Zoolo-
gist ?:—On December 11th, 1879, one was shot by Mr. Martin
Spiller, near Eastbourne. It was in good condition, and was
preserved by Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton. And in the vol. for
1887, p. 111, Mr. Percy E. Coombe records that a fine speci-
men was shot in a turnip-field by Mr. Coote, at Clymping,
near Arundel, in October of that. year.

LIMICOLZ.

(@DICNEMIDA.

STONE-CURLEW.
Cdicnemus scolopax.

Tus is a species still found in Sussex, principally on the
South Downs and other wide, uncultivated expanses, as
well as on the higher ridges of arable land, between the
Downs and the sea, occasionally also on the wide plains of
the interior. It was formerly much more common than it is
at present, and is not unfrequently met with in the winter
months, though generally considered a migratory bird,
arriving in April and remaining with us till September.
After the breeding-season it assembles in large flocks, and
is very vociferous, especially at night, and before rain.

Its note has been compared to the sound of a rusty winch,
such as that of a well, when the bucket is letdown. It forms
no nest, but lays its two eggs on the open field, and both the
eggs and young so strongly resemble the stones, among which
they are almost always placed, as to be very difficult to
discover.

STONE-CURLEW.—DOTTEREL. 203

Its food consists of beetles, field-mice, and frogs, as well
as of worms and slugs. It runs with great swiftness, and is
much more active by night than by day; often visiting the
beach at that time, for which its remarkably large eyes are
particularly adapted. It has been killed in the neighbour-
hood of Chichester, in January and December, and has been
occasionally met with on all parts of our coast in each of
the winter months, when it seeks its food among the turnips.
Mr. Dennis mentions that a Stone-Curlew was picked up
in a very emaciated state under the cliff at Seaford in winter,
and that another was put up in a piece of rape near East
Blatchington, on November 20th, 1856; and I have heard
of several others having been killed in the winter.

CHARADRIIDZ.
DOTTEREL.

Eudromias morinellus.

Turs species is migratory, appearing in the latter part of
April and mostly departing in October, though a few are
met with still later. They may be found on the Downs, in
“ trips”? of from seven or eight to a dozen, and sometimes
in even larger numbers, and are very partial to fields of
young rape, and turnips, where they feed largely on the small
weevil-like beetles, which are so destructive to those crops.
They used to breed in the North of England, particularly
on Helvellyn and Saddleback, and still do so in Scotland—
making no nest, but placing their eggs, three in number, on
the bare ground, on the higher tops of the mountains—
but never in this county. They are chiefly confined to the
Downs, from about Brighton to a little beyond Seaford,
and are not fuund in any number in West Sussex.

204 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

They run with great speed, and are very difficult to see on
the ground. Mr. Dennis, in notes he has kindly sent me,
mentions having seen and shot Dotterels from a trip of
thirteen, on the hill above Blatchington, on March 22nd,
1858, and shortly afterwards twenty were reported to him
as having been seen in a piece of rape, at Blackstone. On
April 12th, 1858, eight birds were seen by him on the
Blatchington hill; on the 24th he shot a couple, and on the
25th three young and two old birds. Mr. Jeffery informs
me that three of these birds were shot at Runcton, near
Chichester, on May 25th, 1859, and one at Sidlesham, on
November 10th, 1875, and, in the same month, another at
Earnley. They are much esteemed for the table.

Of the name Dotterel, Camden somewhere remarks :—“ So
called from their extreme doatishness, which occasions these
imitative birds to be caught by the fowley’s gestures by
candle-light.” And in Fuller’s ‘ Worthies of England, ed.
folio, 1662, p. 149, may be found the following :—“ This is an
avis yedwrtorots, a mirthmaking bird, so ridiculously mimical
that he is easily caught (or rather catcheth himself) by his
overactive imitation. There is a sort of apes in India caught
by the natives thereof, after this manner. They dress a little
boy in hissight, undress him again, leave all the child’s apparel
in the place, and then depart a competent distance. The
ape presently attireth himself in the same garments, till the
child’s clothes become his chains, putting off his feet by putting
on his shoes, not able to run to any purpose, and so is soon
taken. The same humour otherwise pursued, betrayeth the
Dotterels. As the fowler stretcheth forth his arms and legs
going towards the bird, the bird extendeth his legs and wings
approaching the fowler, till surprised in the net. But it is
observed that the foolisher the fowl or fish (woodcocks,
dotterels, cods’-heads, &c.) the finer the flesh thereof.”

RINGED PLOVER. 205

RINGED PLOVER.
Aigialitis hiaticula.

Tuts is common all along the coast of the county, and may
be considered resident, though partially migratory in spring
and autumn. It is most numerous about the mouths of
rivers and the muddy flats of the estuaries and harbours,
though it may occasionally, though rarely, be met with on
the sides of the larger inland ponds. I have seen it two or
three times at the lake in Knepp Park, and in one instance
an example was shot on the side of a small pond at King’s
Farm, in the parish of Cowfold. It has been met with at
the large mill-pond at Warnham, and is common by the
tidal ditches in Pevensey Level. In the breeding-season it
resorts to the large expanses of beach, especially those at
Rye and Shoreham, and lays its eggs, without a nest, in
small depressions among the shingle, where both they and
their young are, from their similarity to the pebbles around,
exceedingly difficult to discover without a dog. Mr. Booth,
however, found a well-formed circular nest near Rye, most
elaborately constructed, a hole having been scraped out in
the fresh green turf, in which was arranged a copious lining
of small white shells, which must have been transported from
the shingle bank, between a quarter and half a mile distant.
The Ringed Plover is strongly attached to its young, and
when they are in danger will feign lameness, and flutter
about to entice away the intruder. When wounded it will
swim and dive well. The note is a loud trisyllabic whistle,
generally uttered on the wing. In the winter it associates
in considerable flocks.

There is a small variety, or race, which arrives in May, and
has the mantle much darker than that of the normal Ringed

206 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

Plover, and the legs of a deeper orange; the note also is quite
different. These small birds were especially numerous about
Shoreham in May 1880, and are not uncommon from
Chichester in the west, to Rye in the east. There can be no
doubt that this small race breeds on the Sussex coast, as it
remains from May till October, when it totally disappears,
yet I have never heard of any’ eggs having been found, which
could be distinguished from those of the ordinary Ringed
Plover. Both feed on shrimps and other small marine
animals.

LITTLE RINGED PLOVER.
Aigialitis curonica.

Tuts little Plover is exceedingly rare in Sussex, and I have
seen no well-authenticated record of more than two examples
having been obtained. One of them is in my own collection,
and-was shot, many years ago, at West Wittering, in May,
but unfortunately I cannot give the year. Another was shot
by Mr. Dennis, who sends me this note :—“TI shot a Little
Ringed Plover, together with a Redshank, at the Tide Mills
Creek, Bishopstone, not knowing at the time what it was;
as, though I had repeatedly shot small specimens of the Ring
Dotterel, I had never met with this bird before.” This was
on August 28th, 1865. In Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ (vol. iii.
p- 263) it is stated that the note is a sharp whistle, not like
that of the Common Ringed Plover, and shorter in duration ;
and, on p. 264 op. cit., it is observed that it very rarely
appears on the sea-coast, but frequents, and breeds on, the
banks of rivers, laying its eggs on the sand, and making no
nest. Its food is similar to that of the two preceding species.
I am not aware that it has ever bred in Britain. It may be

KENTISH PLOVER.—GOLDEN PLOVER. 207

at once distinguished from 4. hiaticula by the colour of the
shafts of the primaries, which are all dusky except the outer
one, which is white throughout.

In ‘ Zoologist,’ p. 3279, Mr. Ellman states that he obtained
a specimen of this scarce bird, at Shoreham, at the latter
part of September 1851.

KENTISH PLOVER.

Aigialitis cantiana.

Tue wide expanses of beach, especially those about Rye
Harbour and Winchelsea, and those of the eastern coast
generally, are the favourite haunts of this Plover. It arrives
in these parts in April, and breeds there in May, though it
is not so abundant as formerly. After the breeding-season
it may be met with in small parties all along the shore, and
has been obtained in the neighbourhood of Hastings and
Bexhill, becoming more scarce to the westward of the county,
though it has occurred about Shoreham and Worthing. . It
does not associate with the Ringed Plover, but appears for
the most part singly, or in pairs, running very swiftly on the
sands, and when at rest, standing much higher on the legs
than its congener. In its mode of nesting it resembles the
other small Plovers, and leaves the country by the end of
September. The note is a shrill whistle, quite different from
that of the common Ringed Plover.

GOLDEN PLOVER.

Charadrius pluvialis.

Tue Golden Plover seldom arrives before January, during
which month and the foliowing large flocks visit the Downs

208 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

and the marshes, often accompanying those of the Lapwing.
They are fond of fields of rape and turnip, and are very
wary and difficult to approach. If, however, a shot can be
obtained on the wing, the whole body of them will frequently
dash down, and present an easy chance for the second barrel,
As its name implies,it seems to delight in wet and stormy
weather. In the breeding-season it retires to the mountains
of the north of England and Wales, and makes a slight nest
on the ground among the heather. In the year 1837, while
travelling in Wales, I found several pairs on the summit of
Cader Berwyn. The male birds were then exceedingly tame,
running swiftly from one hillock to another in a state of
great anxiety, and uttering aloud piping note. After watch-
ing patiently for about an hour, I saw a bird alight not far
from me, and after running a short distance it threw up its
wings and settled down on the nest, which Lfound to contain
four eggs. Soon afterwards I accidentally fell in with three
more nests, all with the same number of eggs.

As the breeding-season approaches, the bird undergoes an
extraordinary change of plumage, the whole of the under-
parts, as also the sides of the neck, becoming of a deep black.
It is very highly esteemed for the table.

GREY PLOVER.

Squatarola helvetica.

Tue Grey Plover is more maritime in its habits than the
Lapwing or the Golden Plover, being very rarely seen at any
distance from the coast, and is by no means so numerous,
It is principally found on the mud flats, where it feeds on
small crustacea and on various marine animals. Occasionally,
however, large flocks come into our estuaries in October and

GREY PLOVER. 209

November, especially when the weather is exceptionally
severe. It is more usual, however, to find parties of five or
six. It has appeared at Pagham Harbour early in October,
and a few have been met with as late as May, when they
have assumed the nuptial plumage ; non-breeding birds have
even remained throughout the summer. Mr. Jeffery men-
tions that several were found at Pagham Harbour as late as
July 30, 1871, and some in summer plumage were seen in
August 1873, but this is very unusual. It occurs all along
the coast, from Rye to Chichester.

Its nidification was unknown until Middendorff found it
breeding in Siberia, and figured one of its eggs (Sibir. Reise,
Il, i. p. 209, pl. 19, fig. 1); and another taken by him on
the Taimyr, July Ist, 1833, passed into the collection of
Professor Newton, who described and figured it in the Proc.
Zool. Soc. for 1861 (p. 398, pl. 39, fig. 2). In 1875 Messrs.
Seebohm and Harvie-Brown found it breeding on the Tundras
of the Petchora. There were many nests, formed of birch
twigs and Iceland moss, containing four eggs each, inter-
mediate in colour between those of the Lapwing and the
Golden Plover. It feeds on small shrimps and crabs, and
other crustacea, worms and green seaweed.

Its note, in the breeding-season, has been described as
resembling the word “kép,” and, on our coasts, on rising,
it utters a call which may be expressed by “ Tle-ih” in a
very high key. Respecting its qualities for the table, Yarrell
(vol. iii, p. 282), quoting Muffett, gives the following :—
“The gray Plover is so highly esteemed that this Proverb is
raised of a curious and male-contented stomack, ‘a gray
Plover cannot please him.’ Yet to some the green [Golden]
Plover seemeth more nourishing, and to others the Lapwing,
which is indeed savory and light of digestion, but nothing
comparable to Plovers.”

210 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

LAPWING.
Vanellus vulgaris.

Tuts is a resident, and by no means uncommon, frequenting
the dry extensive heaths, the marshes, the roughest portions
of uncultivated land, as well as the South Downs, in the
summer. In each of these localities the nest may be found
as early as the middle of April, always on the barest spots
of the heaths, or those covered with short grass among the
coarser herbage of the Downs. They occasionally breed on
the more extensive old tracts of beach out of the reach of
the sea, except in the heaviest gales, and almost destitute of
vegetation except a few scattered plants, such as Sea Cam-
pion and Thrift.

They lay their eggs among the pebbles, and here the nest,
in all situations very slight, has only the addition of a few
stalks of those plants. I have found the nest, on one
occasion, between Shoreham and Worthing ; and Mr. Dennis
states that they breed on the beach eastward of Rye Har-
bour, in a similar locality.

The Lapwing is particularly cunning in its attempts to
lead away any intruder on its eggs or young: fluttering on
the ground, or flying round with heavily flapping wings, and
occasionally tumbling as if shot.

In the latter part of September, or beginning of October,
they collect in flocks, often of several hundred, flying from
place to place in loose order. At this time they especially
affect the fields of rape or turnips, feeding on the black cater-
pillars known to farmers as “ niggers,” thus ridding the
crops of this most destructive pest. They feed also on
earthworms, slugs, and insects. Both the eggs and the birds
are in high demand for the table, though the flesh is not so

LAPWING.—TURNSTONE. 211

much esteemed as that of the Golden Plover. In Sussex it
is called the ‘ Peewit.”’

Mr. Booth states that he has “ several times, while on the
North Sea in October, seen flocks of from three to five
hundred, flying slowly and steadily, each keeping its own
station, straight for the shores of Norfolk or Suffolk.”
Yet he had never been able to ascertain from the fishermen,
or light-keepers, that they had ever been observed on their
return journey. We certainly receive large accessions to
their numbers in the winter, and, in severe weather, large
flocks may be seen flying along the coast, generally from
east .to west.

TURNSTONE.
Strepsilas interpres.

Tus very beautiful little bird derives its name from its
singular habit of turning over with its bill the pebbles on
the beach, or other rejectamenta of the sea, at any distance
from which I have never heard of its being seen (possibly
from the small size of our rivers) in this county. In
other counties it is said to have been found on the
river-banks far inland. With us a few remain throughout
the year, but as a rule the Turnstones arrive in small parties
of young birds about the middle of July, though the main
body does not make its appearance till about the second
week in August. Along the whole coast, from beyond Rye
to the borders of Hampshire, they may be found in small
parties and, if not too much disturbed, are very tame.

Some years ago, I was much interested in watching a pair
acting in concert in their endeavours to turn over a flat-fish

on the beach between Shoreham and Worthing, evidently
P2

212 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

for the sake of the marine animals on its underside, which,
I should have thought, would have been shaken off by their
efforts ; however, they succeeded at last in their endeavours,
and appeared to derive a hearty meal, and, on their leaving
the spot, I could find no appearance of their having eaten
any part of the fish.

On the beach it is very silent, but, ou being put up, utters
a loud twittering note. It goes far north to breed.

OYSTER-CATCHER.

Hematopus ostralegus.

In this county the Oyster-catcher is usually known as the
“ Olive,” of the origin of which name I have no information.
I have now and then heard it called the “ Sea-pie,” from its
black and white appearance. It remains with us throughout
the year, preferring those parts of the coast where there is
the largest expanse of beach. In former days I have seen
considerable flocks between Shoreham Harbour and the sea,
where it then bred, and where it is still occasionally met
with. Another favourite resort is the widely-spread mass
of shingle near Rye, where it still breeds in considerable
numbers.

An amusing story, how true I cannot say, is told of a man
who used to distribute the eggs among his daughters to hatch,
each of the four young ladies taking their turn with them in
bed, and when hatched he had a ready sale for them at 10s.
a piece. I well remember that about the year 1823 I often
saw a small flock of Oyster-catchers driven from the Pavilion
Gardens, at Brighton, across the Steine, by a man in the
toyal livery, armed with a long stick, having a piece of red

OYSTER-CATCHER.—AVOCET. 213

cloth at the end, who took them for a few hours’ recreation
on the shore.

This species forms no actual nest, but collects a few white
shells, and pebbles, and now and then pieces of tobacco-pipe,
around the eggs. What may be the object of this, when on the
beach, does not easily appear, but when on the bare rock,
where I have often found them, it is no doubt to prevent the
eggs from rolling, or being blown away.

Although in Scotland, where I have seen it on the Spey
and other rivers, it goes far inland to breed among the flat
stones of the shores, I have never heard of it inland in
Sussex, the muddy banks of our small rivers being unsuitable
to its habits. Its note is a loud whistle, which may be heard
a long distance, and it swims with great ease when so dis-
posed, and dives also. It feeds on limpets, mussels, and
crustacea, prizing off the two former from the rocks with the
greatest ease.

Notwithstanding its name, I greatly doubt its ability to
open the shell of an oyster, or its power to withdraw its bill,
should it attempt to scoop out the animal while gaping for
the tide. The flesh is by no means desirable, although it is
stated in the ‘Northumberland Household Book,’ “Item:
Seepyes for my Lorde at the princypall Feestes, and non
other tyme.”

SCOLOPACIDA.
AVOCET.

Recurvirostra avocetta.

Owine to extensive draining, this bird, which was formerly
not uncommon in the marshy districts of the county in the

214 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

summer, and along the coast in the winter, has now become
quite extinct as a native, and I have never seen it alive
except in confinement. Many years ago, I was told that
three had been observed on the mud flats near Old Shoreham
bridge, and I went in hope of seeing them, though I did
not succeed; but walking on the mud I came to a spot
where I observed many zigzag marks on it, which, I have no
doubt, were made by these birds, as I have seen elsewhere
that their method of obtaining food is by passing the some-
what flattened portion of their whalebone-like bill over the
surface of the mud, thus raising the little crustaceans known
as sandhoppers, and catching them with the upturned point
of it. The Avocet is a good swimmer, and dives well. When
disturbed it flies round the intruder, uttering loud whistling
cries.

Markwick states that it was not uncommon on the sea-
coast of Sussex, and that he had found a young one near
Rye, which seemed to have been just hatched, and took it in
his hand, the old birds flying overhead.

Mr. Jeffery in his P. N. records that an Avocet was shot
in June 1859, on a tide-mill pond at Sidlesham ; and in the
‘ Zoologist, p. 9211, he mentions another, shot on the
same pond, an that this proved on dissection to be a male ;
the gizzard contained nothing but a few stones.

On July 14th, 1853, an adult Avocet and two others,
young of the year, were shot by Mr. Dennis, at the upper
tide-mill near Newhaven, and a few mornings after, three
others were obtained on the tide-mill salts. He also informs
me that they were very tame, and he particularly observed
their mode of feeding, which seemed to be by thrusting
their bills forward and a little upward into the softest mud,
where there was an inch or two of water, the bird making
sometimes a short and very rapid run, the webbed feet
being apparently excellent mud-pattens.. Mr. Dodd, of

AVOCET.—BLACK-WINGED STILT. 215

Chichester, told Mr. Knox (‘ Zoologist, p. 229) that at a
late period he saw a flock of five Avocets at Pagham Har-
bour; he shot two and wounded another; the survivors,
however, did not attempt to fly away until he had advanced
to pick up the dead bird. He had previously observed their
mode of feeding, and noticed the same ploughing of the
sand as in the Spoonbill, but with this difference, that the
Avocet ploughed with the convexity of the bill. Two of
these are now in the Chichester Museum ; the wounded one
was purchased by Mr. Tuffnell, of Mundham, and placed in
his garden. Here the same action was observed of plough-
ing, or mowing, from right to left in the grass, or rather
brushing it from side to side. Mr. Allen Bell, writing from
Hastings in January 1870 (‘ Zoologist, p. 2024, s. s.), states
that he was shown an Avocet in immature dress, which was
one out of a flock of three shot at Rye, during the snowy
weather of the previous December.

From the form of the bill it was formerly known in
Sussex as the Cobbler’s Awl.

BLACK-WINGED STILT.

Himantopus candidus.

Tuts remarkable and extremely rare visitor has been ob-
served in the county but a few times, and at very long
intervals. It does not breed in Britain. In his account of
‘ Five Months Birds’-nesting in the Eastern Atlas,’ Mr. O.
Salvin gives the following account of the habits of this
bird :—“ Abundant at Zana, a few pairs occurring at Djendeli
and Guerah el Tharf. Over the whole of the lower end of
the Marsh of Zana and Chot Saboun the Stilt breeds in

216 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

great abundance among the wet grass, choosing for the
position of its nest a small tuft, so as just to keep the eggs
out of the water. Sometimes, however, this object is not
obtained, as we occasionally found eggs half immersed.
The bird uses its long legs with much greater ease than
might be expected; and its long deliberate strides as it
walks about in search of food are far from being ungraceful.
The only time they seem to be in its way is at the moment
of taking flight, when they hang awkwardly down till the
bird, being fairly started, stretches them out, extending
them far beyond the tail. We used to search for the nests
of this bird on horseback, and on observing one sitting, to
ride up without taking our eyes off the place. The bird
would remain quiet till we were within thirty yards of the
nest, when it would walk slowly away, till, aware of our
purpose, it would rise and fly, wheeling and screaming
overhead. The young Stilt is able to walk almost imme-
diately on leaving the egg; one we found was capable of
moving about, while the other three were struggling to free
themselves from the shell. The nest is composed of a few
bits of dead reed or grass.” (See ‘ Ibis,’ 1859, p. 360.)

It breeds also in Spain, and in many parts of Asia and
Africa. Its note may be expressed by the word “ pee”
several times repeated. Mr. E. Newman records in ‘ Zoolo-
gist,’ (p. 8945) that an example was obtained at Bosham in
December 1855 by Mr. A. Cheeseman; and another was
shot on a small pond near the junction of the Midhurst and
Bepton Commons, May 17th,.1859, of which Mr. Knox
gives an interesting account in ‘ The Ibis,’ 1859, p. 395, from
which the following is extracted:—The pond was very
shallow, being only about a foot deep at fifteen paces from
the shore, and was covered with the blossoms of the Water
Crowfoot, Ranunculus aquaticus, which were inhabited by
numerous minute Dipterous and Coleopterous insects. The

BLACK-WINGED STILT._GREY PHALAROPE. 217

bird was first observed by a farmer’s boy, who was driving
some cows home in the evening, standing up to its belly in
the water, picking, as he thought, at the flowers. It allowed
him to approach within twenty yards, then rising, alighted
again on the opposite bank. The boy then went home and
told his father, who, hurrying to the spot with a loaded gun,
found the bird still employed in picking at the flowers. It
was then extremely wary and shy of the gun. The man,
however, whose name was Pearson, at last succeeded in
shooting it as it was standing up to its knees in the water,
snapping at the insects. It was but little injured, and was
brought the next morning to Mr. Knox, who found, on
dissection, that it contained a number of eggs about the size
of a pea. The stomach was crammed with insects, and the
elytra of small beetles and gnats in a half digested state.

On May 6th, 1880, Mr. Clark Kennedy, being in the
marshes between Eastbourne and Polegate, had his attention
attracted by his fox terrier chasing a bird along a deep
ditch ; it ran with long strides for a few yards, and then
flew close past him, when he saw that it was a Stilt. The
bird appeared to be very tired, and only flew some two or
three yards, alighting in a similar ditch, whence he did not
again dislodge it (‘ Zoologist’ for 1880, p. 300).

GREY PHALAROPE.

Phalaropus fulicarius.

In some seasons this most elegant little bird visits us in
very large numbers. Mr. J. H. Gurney informs us that out
of some five hundred which had appeared in the great immi-
gration between August 20th and October 8th, 1866, about

218 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

two hundred and fifty were obtained in Sussex. At that
period they were many times observed on small pools ten or
twelve miles from the sea, and I was particularly interested
in watching one of them swimming about in an extremely
dirty and offensive pool, at the back of the Inn at Albourne.
It swam remarkably high in the water, constantly nodding
its head and dipping its bill, while snapping at the numerous
flies with which the place was infested. It allowed me to
approach it within a very few yards, occasionally flying
close to me in perfect silence, both of wing and voice,
with a most graceful and bat-like flight.

There was another extraordinary immigration in the
autumn of 1869, when many were obtained all along the coast
of Sussex, and as far west as Dorsetshire. They were so tame
that they might be knocked on the head with an oar. In
the first immigration many were taken showing more or less
trace of the red or nuptial plumage. As a rule, when found
inland, they are met with singly, or at most in pairs.

This Phalarope seems quite at home, even in a rough sea,
where it feeds on minute animalcules, in search of which it
is incessantly nodding its head, and thrusting its bill under
water. It goes far north to breed, and the eggs have been
found in Northern Siberia and Alaska; they are laid in a
mere depression in the turf. The female has the brightest
colour, and is Somewhat larger than the male.

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE.

Phalaropus hyperboreus.

Tus species is very similar in its habits to the last mentioned,
and though much rarer, has appeared a few times in the
county. It formerly bred in Orkney.

About’ the: second week’ in September 1845; a male Red-

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE.—WOODCOCK. 219

necked Phalarope was shot on a small pond near Old Shore-
ham, and is now in my collection. It was in pure winter
plumage. On the 28th of May, 1846, another was obtained,
also on a small pond, at Falmer, the ovary containing eggs
in an advanced state; this was in full nuptial plumage, and
had no doubt been driven out of its course by a severe gale.
It was very tame, swimming and dipping its bill in the water
like its congener. Mr. Ellman, in the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 3085),
records a third, in winter plumage, shot on a pond near
Lewes, in November 1851.

On October 4th, 1853, a fourth was killed on a pond in
the heart of the village of Rottingdean, while swimming
among some tame ducks, in nearly complete winter plumage,
a few red feathers only appearing on the neck. This is re-
corded by Mr. Arthur Hussey (Zoologist, p. 4096-7). A
fifth example was observed, while swimming on a flooded
meadow near the sea, opposite the village of Bexhill. It was
in company with a Schinz Sandpiper, when both were
obtained at one shot, by Mr. Robert Kent, of St. Leonards-
on-Sea. They both proved males (Zoologist, p. 6537).

WOODCOCK.
Scolopax rusticula.

Tuts bird breeds every year in most counties of England, but

is comparatively scarce till the arrival of large flights in

October, of which the main body pass on to the westward,

leaving small detachments, which gradually spread over the’
wooded parts of the county. On their first arrival many

drop among the furze on the South Downs, and they have

been several times picked up in the gardens of the towns on

the coast.

220 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

When arriving ina heavy gale, they are generally in an
exhausted state, and hide themselves in most unlikely holes
and corners, to obtain shelter. For example, I well remem-
ber being told by the late Mr. Tayler, the eminent surgeon
at Brighton, that, on coming out of a house on the Marine
Parade, he saw something dash under the apron of his ¢éar-
riage as it stood at the door, which proved to be a Wood-
cock. They appear to breed in the county much more
commonly than formerly, when to have found a nest at all
was thought worthy of notice. They breed very early, nest-
ing in March, and by the end of May the young are fully
fledged. As the covers are rarely disturbed in the early
spring, except for marking timber or cutting hop-poles, they
may breed more numerously than is generally supposed.
“Mr. T. Monk, of Lewes, some years since, was at consider-
able pains to obtain statistics as to the number of Woodcocks
remaining to breed in the eastern division of Sussex; and,
extraordinary as it may appear, the conclusion he arrived at
was to the effect that in seven districts of East Sussex, com-
prising twenty-one parishes, there were annually on an aver-
age from one hundred and fifty to two hundred nests of this
bird.” (Zoologist, p. 484, 1879.)

That the young are carried by the parents from place to
place has been now indisputably proved, and one manner in
which they are conveyed is admirably depicted in the frontis-
piece to the volume I have quoted. I have not myself seen
many nests. ‘The first was in a wood in the parish of Wood-
mancote, in March 1851, and another I saw in Eridge
Park, in March 1852, and two more in St. Leonards Forest.
I have received the eggs from Petworth, Arundel, and Tun-
bridge Wells, and have been informed that in the latter neigh-
bourhood the eggs have often been found. Mr. Booth, in his
‘Rough Notes, states that in his bird-nesting days he had
frequently met with them about Catsfield and Ashburnham.

“WOODCOCK. 221

The Woodcock conceals itself in the covers during the day,
on the ground under the thick holly bushes being a favourite
retreat. In the evening it flies out to feed in boggy places,
when it may be easily shot. It always returns to cover
before sunrise. This sport is called in Sussex “ wicketing,”
I suppose from the wicket gates across many of the rides in
the woods being convenient to lean on, while awaiting the
arrival of the birds. It runs very fast when wounded, and
feeds on earthworms, &c., for which it probes the ground
in the softest spots, as well as on small land and freshwater
shells. I have taken from its stomach those of Clausilia
nigricans whole, and the remains of those of Aplexus hyp-
norum comminuted.

The nest is on the ground, and composed of dead leaves, in
Sussex generally those of the oak. It is exceedingly difficult
to see the bird when sitting. A keeper once attempted to
point one out to me, but not till he nearly touched it with
the muzzle of his gun could I see it, and then only by acci-
dentally catching sight of its eye, showing the aptitude of the
lines in Butler’s ‘ Hudibras,’

‘Fools are known by looking wise,
As men find Woodcocks by their eyes.”

In the unpreserved parts of Sussex they are often caught
in horse-hair nooses, called springes, set in their feeding
places. When flying at night they utter a croaking note,
but at other times are remarkably silent. When flushed the
flight is often perfectly noiseless, the bird going off like an Owl;
at other times it makes quite a loud clapping of the wings, like
some of the Pigeons, and goes off twisting sharply like a
Snipe. The male is smaller than the female, and both are
much lighter in colour in summer than in winter. Those
which migrate depart in March.

222 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

GREAT SNIPE.
Gallinago major.

Tue Great Snipe is rare in Sussex, and does not visit England
till the autumn. At that season of the year it does not fre-
quent the bogs and marshes, but in the few instances in which
it has occurred, was mostly found among turnips or on dry
grass-land. When flushed, it rises in silence, as arule, though
occasionally it utters a few harsh notes.

The nest is found in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and
Russia, from the Baltic to Archarigel, and in the breeding
season, like the Common Snipe, it mounts high in the air,
and makes a drumming noise on its descent. At that time,
it frequents the higher regions as well as the marshes of the
lowlands and coast. The food of the Great Snipe consists of
worms and slugs, also of insects, especially those of the gnat -
tribe. (Vide Yarrell, vol. iii. pp. 388, 839.) Markwick, in
his Catalogue of Sussex Birds, says, “ I have seen one of this
species which was killed near Horsham.” Mr. Dennis (p. n.)
states that one was obtained on Larnes Farm, Upper Beeding,
and another at Pond Lye, near Cuckfield, but gives no date.
Mr. Knox mentions that the Great Snipe “has been killed
on Pevensey Levels, and one was shot, in the month of
October, a few years ago by Mr. Trist, a wine merchant at
Brighton, on the Downs, near the Racecourse, a singular
locality for this bird.”

In the ‘ Zoologist ? we find the two following notices from
Mr. Ellman and Mr. Monk respectively:—“ A specimen of -
this rare bird was shot in the levels near this town, in
October 1849, Lewes.’ “A fine specimen of the Solitary
(or Great) Snipe, which was shot near Lewes, was brought me
on the 10th of October, 1867; it was a female, extremely

GREAT SNIPE. 223

fat, and weighed nearly 73 oz.; it was preserved by Mr.
Swaysland.” Again, at p. 1482 (s.s.), an instance is
recorded of a Solitary Snipe caught in a gin which had
been set by the side of a watercress bed, at Sompting, about
two miles from Worthing, on the 24th of October, 1868,
and came the same day into the possession of Mr. J. W.
Stephenson, of Loudoun Place, Brixton Road. At p. 492,
Mr. Parkin mentions that Mr. C. J. Ebden, of Coghurst
Hall, near Hastings, informed him that he flushed a Great
Snipe on that estate on October 6th, 1881.

Mr. Bristowe writes to me of a specimen shot at Stream
Farm, Dallington, near Battle, September 23rd, 1875, by
Mr. Watts, of Caldbec Hill; and Mr. Child, of Slinfold, has
kindly informed me that he saw a Great Snipe flushed in a
barley field, and shot by Mr. William Lintott, of Horsham,
about ten years ago; and from Mr. Nicholls, of Eastbourne, I
hear of another, shot in Pevensey Marsh, which he saw in
the flesh in 1888. Mr. Aubrey Hillman, of Iford, near
Lewes, has also kindly written to tell me of a Solitary Snipe
which he shot, in the early autumn of 1860, at Lower Stone-
ham, near Lewes, but although its great size and weight
(over 8 oz.) were observed at the time, he, not knowing its
rarity, did not have it preserved. Mr. P. Sorrell, Old Hum-
phrey’s Avenue, Hastings, tells me that he has in his collec-
tion two examples killed at Rye.

Markwick, in his Catalogue, Linn. Trans. (vol. iv. p. 8),
says, “I have seen one of this species, which was killed near
Horsham ;” and in an unpublished MS., now in the Library
of the Linnean Society (p. 23), this specimen is again re-
ferred to, as seen by the author, and killed near Horsham,
It was obtained on the Ist of October, 1793, and a full de.
scription is given of it, together with a water-colour drawing,

224 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

COMMON SNIPE.
Scolopax coelestis,

Tur Snipe is resident in the county, but the main body
arrive, either from abroad, or from their inland breeding-
places, about the first week in August. In my younger days
I was a very ardent sportsman, and, living at Henfield close
to the celebrated Common, the first piece of wheat which I
saw reaped made me think it worth while to walk it for a Snipe,
and seldom was the trouble in vain. There is something
peculiarly attractive to this bird there, though it is not a
large tract, in fact only about forty-five acres in extent, I
was a very diligent observer of its bird-life, and generally got
the best sport by working up wind when it was blowing half
agale. Iwas often there waiting for daylight, for, as the
ground was unpreserved, it was a case of first come first
served, and I have had many a good bag there, the best being
twelve couple and a half, and a Teal. From constant: obser-
vation, I gradually discovered where those rising out of shot
or missed went to, and after finishing the Commnion, started
in pursuit, One of the most singular places was a thick
plantation in a little wood called the Worm’s Copse, consisting
in part of spruce fir, where it was almost impossible to get
a shot. I have several times looked over this copse before
going on the Common, but in no instance did I ever find a
Snipe, and should never have gone there for them had I not
one morning seen a wisp of seven or eight, when some other
person was shooting on the Common, pass over, and marked.
fhem down there. The Snipe breeds sparingly in Sussex,
but the nest has been found now and then on the aforesaid
Common, as well as on the heaths near Balcombe, and on
Ashdown Forest, Pevensey Level, and Horsham.

COMMON SNIPE. ” 995

Its food is similar to that of the Woodcock. Its usual
call-note when flushed resembles the word “ scape,” two or
three times repeated, and is never heard at any other time.
Mr. Booth, however, states that it has a call-note in the
breeding-season, consisting of two notes. When the young
corn is come up in the spring, this bird is often caught in
the wet furrows, in horsehair nooses, like those used for
taking Woodcocks. The singular sound heard when the
Snipe is descending is now satisfactorily aseertained to be
caused by the vibration of its wings and tail.

The Snipe, when first started, goes off nearly close to the
ground, with many twistings, then flying round in large
circles, suddenly drops like a stone into the marsh, if it does
not leave it altogether.

Tn very severe frosts the Snipe leaves the inland bogs and
betakes itself to the salt-marshes, where, although it is at
other times the best of birds for the table, the flesh becomes
rank and unpalatable. In this country it is rarely seen but
on the ground or on the wing, though I have more than
once observed it on the top of a larch, and two or three times
onarail. In the northern regions it has often been seen on
trees.

Of the variety known as Sabine’s Snipe, which is now
admitted to be merely a melanism of the Common Snipe,
only a single example seems to have been obtained in Sussex,
viz. that which is mentioned by Mr. Knox in his O. R.
p. 236. I heard of this bird and told Mr. Knox, who went
to Chichester and bought it. It was shot by one Sergeant
Carter, who informed me by letter that he found it on
Appledram Common, where it rose out of shot, and marking
it down, it again rose at a long distance, when he killed it,
and sold it for five shillings to a Mr. Andrews, who refused
three pounds for it. He afterwards -had it stuffed by Mr.
Smith of Chichester, who sold it to Mr. Knox for five pounds.

Q

226 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

Carter further adds, “You will say ‘Old fool, for letting it
go so cheap.’ I have no doubt there is another in the neigh-
bourhood, as two countrymen told me they had put a Snipe
up out of the springhole in Mr. Halsted’s marsh, as black as
a Starling, the Saturday after I killed mine. If I should get
the other the price would make me sing ‘ O be joyful.’” I
never heard that the second was obtained.

JACK SNIPE.

Scolopax gallinula.

Tuoven not at all uncommon, the Jack Snipe is by no means
so abundant as the last described, and, unlike it, is never
found in wisps, seldom more than a pair being flushed
together, and it is far more usual to find it solitary. When
alarmed it lies very close, so much so that one day, having
no more ammunition, I obtained three, immediately under
the nose of my pointer, by dropping the muzzle of my gun
upon the bird, which my readers will no doubt call a very
unsportsmanlike proceeding. When flushed, the Jack Snipe
seldom flies to any great distance, and does not twist about
like the Common Snipe. Many stories have been told of the
difficulty of shooting it, but I must say that I think it is
even greater in the case of the Common Snipe, as the Jack
hangs in the wind, and, though flying sharply for a moment,
afterwards goes off very slowly, but if one waits till it is at a
reasonable distance it is very apt to drop just as you are
about to fire. It is found, not in the parts where the bog is
deepest, but on the drier spots around the little springholes
on its margin, or the runlets trickling down towards it. On
the Common I have so often mentioned, I always knew where
to find one, if any were there.

JACK SNIPE.—BROAD-BILLED SANDPIPER, 227

_ The first week in October is the earliest time of its arrival,
as arule, but I have met with one on September Ist. It
never breeds in this country, and we are indebted to the late
Mr. Wolley, who found it breeding in Lapland, for a know-
ledge of its nest and eggs. The former is stated by Yarrell,
vol. iii. pp. 854-5, to be “ made loosely of little pieces of
grass and equisetum, not at all woven together, with a few old
leaves of dwarf birch, placed in a dry, sedgy, or grassy spot,
close to the more open swamp.” ;

The food of this bird is similar to that of the Common
Snipe, and during the breeding-season it makes a drumming
noise, which Mr. Woolley likens to the cantering of a horse
over a hollow road.

BROAD-BILLED SANDPIPER.
Limicola platyrhyncha.

Or this species I am not aware of any example having been
obtained in Sussex, except one in my own possession. I was
walking near the west end of Brighton and met a boy carry-
ing a bunch of birds ; I asked him where he got them and
what he was going to do with them. He replied that his
father shot them on the beach near Shoreham, and that he
was going to see what he could get for them at the poul-
terer’s. I asked what he expected that would be, and he
said twopence a piece. I then said, “ If you like I will give
you sixpence for this one;”’ the boy accepted it and was very
much pleased, and so was I.- He said that there was a large
flock, and that his father killed the ten le was carrying at
one shot ; with the exception of the one I selected, they were
all Dunlins. This was in the latter part of October 1845.
On examination the bird proved to be in winter plumage,
Q2

228 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX,

except one scapular feather and a small patch on the occiput,
In many parts of the Continent it frequents the coast and
inland waters. According to Yarrell (vol. iii. p. 365), Mr,
Dann was the first discoverer of its breeding-places in Nor-
way and Lapland, where it forms its nest on dry hummocks
in the most inaccessible bogs. On its first appearance it is
wild and shy, and, on being disturbed, it soars to a great
height, rising and falling suddenly like the Snipe, and utter-
ing the notes “two-woo,” rapidly repeated; but, as the
weather becomes warm, it changes its habits, and is then very
difficult to flush, and when it rises only flies a short distance
and drops again. In the stomach little has been found save

small insects and larvee.

PECTORAL SANDPIPER.
Tringa maculata.

Tuis Sandpiper has but rarely been met with in England,
being an accidental visitant from N. America, where under
the names of “ Meadow Snipe” and “ Grass Snipe” it is,
according to Yarrell, generally distributed from Hudson’s
Bay to Alaska, in winter, and is supposed to breed in the
Arctic Regions, but the egg is yet unknown. It is abundant
in summer, in Labrador, frequenting low muddy flats. Its
habits resemble those of the Common Snipe. It feeds on
insects, small seeds, ‘and crustacea. In Sussex the only
occurrence is that recorded by Mr. Harting in his ‘ Hand-
book of British Birds,’ p. 141, as having been obtained at
Eastbourne, in September 1870.

BONAPARTE’S SANDPIPER.—DUNLIN, 229

BONAPARTE’S SANDPIPER.
Tringa fuscicollis.

Tas Tringa is also an inhabitant of N. America, and is
nearly as rare in Sussex as the last. According to Yarrell
(vol. iii. p. 375), it is very abundant on the Atlantic coast from
Labrador to Florida. Dr. E. Coues states that he has fre-
quently observed it on the rocky shores covered with sea-
weed, and that it is, of all Sandpipers, the most gentle and
confiding. In this country an example was obtained by Mr.
Kent, of St. Leonard’s-on-Sea, who states in the ‘ Zoologist,’
pp. 673-7, that the Schinz (or Bonaparte’s) Sandpiper was in
company with a Red-necked Phalarope, the latter swimming
and the Schinz wading in a flooded meadow, about two hun-
dred yards from the sea, directly opposite the village of
Bexhill ; they were not at all shy, and he killed both at one
shot. They proved to be males. This was the first recorded
Sussex specimen, and the date was October 8th, 1857.

Another was taken at Eastbourne, now in possession of
Mr. Gurney, on November 12th, 1870. It was alone and
standing on one leg, which attracted the attention of the
person who shot it, though he at first mistook it for a Dunlin.
It was a male bird and was recorded by Mr. J. H. Gurney,
jun., in the ‘ Zoologist,’ p. 2442, s.s.

DUNLIN.
Tringa alpina.

Tar Dunlin, also called the Purre, or the Ox-bird, is the
most abundant of all the waders on the whole of our coast,

230 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

and is found in small parties, and occasionally in very large
flocks, on the beach and sands as well as on the mud flats.
When disturbed on the sea-side they fly in a compact body
and make a semicircular excursion over the sea, returning to
the beach at a few hundred yards distance. During these
flights the whole body wheel and turn all together, showing
at one moment the dark plumage of the back, and at the
next the pure white of the underparts, and uttering a loud
but somewhat soft cry, “Tui, Tui.” While feeding the bird
runs very swiftly, and is very restless, constantly shifting
from place to place, following each receding wave and picking
up marine insects, worms, and small crustacea. ‘Tt seldom
proceeds up the rivers beyond the influence of the tide. It
goes northward to breed on the moors of England and
Scotland, sometimes on mountains at a considerable height
above the sea, forming the nest in a dry tuft of sedge or
rushes, lining it with small pieces of grass and heather.

LITTLE STINT.
Tringa minuta.

In the latter part of May, or the beginning of June, small
parties of this little wader may be found along the coast,
many more arriving in August and September. Mr. Booth
mentions that a heavy gale from the south-east not unfre-
quently brings numbers to the coast of Sussex as late as
October, thus checking their southerly migration. It is
occasionally met with on the mud of the harbour at Shore-
ham, and in the salt-marshes in the neighbourhood, in fact
‘on suitable spots all along the coast. In the eastern division
one of its favourite haunts was formerly a piece of marsh

LITTLE STINT.—TEMMINCK’S STINT, 231

land near Rye, known as the “ Nook”; but owing to the
drainage, it is, though still found there, by no means so
abundant as formerly. Tothe westward of Pagham Harbour
is another attractive spot, but unhappily, ornithologically
speaking, the same remark equally applies there, the sea
being now entirely shut out, and the mud preparing for the
plough. It is a social little bird, often joining parties of
the Dunlin and the Curlew Sandpiper.

It retires far north to breed. The eggs were first found
by Middendorff in Siberia, and in 1875 it was found breed-
ing on the Petchora by Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie
Brown, of which discovery there is a most interesting account
in the ‘Ibis,’ 1876, pp. 294-308. The note is described
as a “whispering warbling trill,’ and the nest as a mere
depression in the turf with leaves of the cloudberry and other
dry materials scraped together for the lining.

TEMMINCK’S STINT.

Tringa temmincki.

Turs is a much rarer species than the Little Stint, and never
found on the sand or open coast-line of the sea-shore, but
frequents the mud flats of the tidal rivers. In August and
September small parties arrive on the rivers, ponds, and mud
of the Adur, and of Shoreham Harbour, also on the salt-
marshes a mile or so up that river. On July 25th, 1878,
one was shot by Mr. Booth, at Shoreham, in full summer
plumage, and its manners resembled those of the Common
Sandpiper. On this account Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) states that
this and both the Stints are often called ‘ Wagtails,” and

232 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

he mentions that two were shot inside the mud walls of
Prior’s Marsh, near Chichester, on Aug. 25th, 1873, and
that their note resembles ‘Chicket, Chicket.”” The eggs
were discovered by Mr. Wolley in the interior of Lapland,
who states that the note was like that of the Red-necked
Phalarope and the Sanderlings, and gives a very interesting
account of it, too long to quote. He also states that the
nest is placed in hummocky ground covered with Carices
and cloudberry. It is a mere depression in the ground,
with such leaves of the cloudberry and other dry material
as were in easy reach. The bird flew round, or perched on
a stone, or the gable of a cottage, uttering a trilling note,
which put him in mind of that of the Grasshopper Warbler
(vide Yarrell, vol. iii. pp. 400, 401). In the ‘ Zoologist ’
(p. 3279), Mr. Ellman records that he obtained a specimen
of this minute Sandpiper among the mud-pells at Newhaven,
October 5th, 1851.

CURLEW SANDPIPER.
Tringa subarquata.

Tuis is a migratory species, arriving in May, when these
birds are in full breeding-plumage. In August and Sep-
tember much greater numbers join them, consisting for the
most part of birds of the year. .

They seldom remain long enough to have assumed the
winter plumage, but before leaving they are in a state of
transition, many of the red feathers of the underparts
being mingled with the approaching winter dress.

Their habits in Sussex are much the same as those of the

CURLEW SANDPIPER.—KNOT. 283

Dunlin, with which they often associate, though still oftener
with the Little Stint. They are by no means uncommon,
and are found all along the coast. Our rivers being very
small, I have never heard of their occurring inland in
Sussex. The breeding-place is as yet unknown.

PURPLE SANDPIPER.

Tringa striata.

Tue Purple Sandpiper may be met with along the whole
coast of Sussex, where it is generally alone, or at most with
two or three in company. It prefers the more rocky parts,
for example the large masses of chalk fallen from the cliffs
between Brighton and Seaford Head, where it may be found
all through September, October, and November running
about among the sea-weed, or if on the beach, following the
receding waves, and often getting buried in the surf, feeding
on small crabs and other crustacea and on the contents of
minute bivalves and other shells. It is very tame, and its
note, when disturbed, is a soft “weet, wit”? two or three
times repeated. It breeds on the whole coast of Norway,
the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, Spitzbergen, and Nova
Zembla, The nest is tolerably compact, deep in the ground,
and lined with dead leaves.

KNOT.

Tringa canutus.

Tur Knot has received its name from the old legend of
King Canute, on account of its habit of feeding on the

234 THE. BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

‘margin of the sea-shore, close to the advancing waves. It
is migratory, making its first appearance in April, in small
numbers, which continue to increase throughout that month
and the next.

Many, even then, show slight indication of the change
from the winter to the summer plumage, and by the end
of June the main body have entirely assumed it, when they
depart for the breeding-season, with the exception of a few
which remain throughout the year, frequenting the open
coast. During the whole of May large flights pass eastward,
following the line of coast, five or six miles out at sea. On
the approach of a heavy gale they leave the shore and betake
themselves to the mud of the harbours and rivers as high
as the salt water flows, and are very seldom found further
inland. When feeding on the mud they assemble in vast
flocks, ard are very easily approached, and with a punt-gun
as many as sixty have been obtained at a single shot. As
soon as the weather moderates they return to their feeding-
places on the beach and sands. They are at times very
numerous about Shoreham, and were so at ‘Pagham before
the mud flats were reclaimed ; Rye Harbour was another:
favourite resort. They feed on small bivalves and other
shellfish, and were formerly fattened for the table on bread
and milk. In the breeding-season they retire to the Arctic
Regions, where Parry’s Expedition found them breeding
numerously on what were then called the North Georgian,
but are now known as the Parry Islands, and again, on July
30th, 1876, an old bird, accompanied: by three nestlings,
was obtained on the border of a small lake not far from
H.M.S. “ Alert.’ The old bird proved to be a male; its
stomach and those of the young were filled with insects
(vide ‘Ibis, 1877, p. 407), and, according to Yarrell
(vol. ili. p. 416), Mr. TI. Chichester Hart, naturalist to
H.M.S. “ Discovery,” obtained, in 81° 44’ N.L., a brood

KNOT.—SANDERLING, 225

of four, disturbed from the nest on the 11th of July.
This was placed under a large flat stone, resting on two
others, forming a sort of gangway. It was merely com-
posed of reeds and grass, loosely laid together on the earth
by the edge of a stream, but no trace of the egg-shells were
found. These were several miles inland. At this season of the
year the Knot soars high in the air like the Common Snipe,
and when descending beats its wings behind the back with a
rapid motion, producing a loud whirring noise. In the north
these birds feed eagerly on the Sawifraga oppositifolia.

SANDERLING.

‘Calidris arenaria.

Turs little wader first appears early in May, on the spring
migration, and stays two or three weeks, occasionally as late
as the first week of June. Flocks of old and young return
about the end of July, or beginning of August, on their way
southward.

In October great bodies of them may be seen flying
to the westward. As the name implies, the Sanderling
feeds on the sea-sands, probing for its food, which consists
of small worms and crustacea, after the manner of the Snipe.
In the breeding-season it eats also the buds of Saxifraga
oppusitifolia. It is found along the whole coast, especially
at Worthing, Pagham, Sidlesham, and Bosham.

In the Arctic Regions, where it breeds, the eggs were first
fully identified by Mr. McFarlane, when collecting for the
Smithsonian Institution, near the Anderson River, and the
German Arctic Expedition met with similar nests on the
east coast of Greenland.

Professor Newton obtained an egg in Iceland, and Colonel

236 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

Feilden, naturalist to H.M.S. “ Alert,” found ten on Sabine
Island, in Smith’s Sound.

A nest found by the last-named naturalist was placed on
a gravel ridge, a hundred feet above the sea, in a slight
depression in the centre of a recumbent plant of willow;
the lining cousisted of a few withered leaves and some of
the last year’s catkins. Another, found on Anderson
River, was composed of hay and decayed leaves (see Yarrell,
vol. iii. p. 28).

RUFF.
Machetes pugnax.

Tur Ruff cannot be called common in Sussex; and all which
have been met with have been in winter plumage. It may
now be considered as an accidental visitor, though it
formerly bred in Pevensey Levels till it was banished by
the extensive drainage. Numbers were formerly found in
the fens of Cambridge and Lincolnshire, and on Romney
Marsh, in Kent, whence the eggs were given me many
years ago.

In the breeding-season the males assemble at “‘lekking”
places, locally called “hills,” like the Black Grouse and
Capercallie, and fight desperately for the females.

The nest is generally placed on a tussock in the wettest
part of a swamp. The food consists of insects, larve,
worms, and, occasionally, of certain seeds, and its note is a
low “ Kack-Kick-Kack.”

The late Mr. Knox records (O. R., p. 234) a curious
capture of a Ruff, in a clap-net, near Hove, being apparently
attracted by asLark which was used as a call-bird. I see,

RUFF.—BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, 237

by my own notes, that this was in September 1843, and
that an adult male was shot near Eastbourne, on March
llth, 1840. :

Mr. Jeffery (p.n.) mentions one shot at Appledram, April
24th, 1861, another at Pagham Harbour, October 1863,
and that three were seen at Sidlesham, August 24th, 1864,
and one shot a day or two before at Pagham, two more in
1873 at the same harbour, and, lastly, two at Sidlesham,
March 2nd, 1887. In the ‘Zoologist,’ p. 4258, s. s., is re-
corded a Reeve, obtained near Eastbourne, on September
21st, 1874.

Mr. Harting informs me that twenty years ago, when
Pagham Harbour was a paradise for shore birds in spring
and autumn, and for wildfowl in winter, he used often to
come across the Ruff and Reeve there in August and Sep-
tember. They were never in flocks, but in little parties of
five or six birds, and the males had then entirely lost their
frills. He never observed them there in spring, which
indicates that they returned northward at that season by a
different route. This he observed to be the case also with
the Grey Phalarope.

BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER.

Tringites rufescens.

A very rare visitant to Sussex, being in fact a straggler
from N. America. According to Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv.
pp. 437-8) its summer haunts are in the Arctic portions of
the American continent, and its food consists of land and
marine insects, particularly grasshoppers. Mr. Dresser
found it in Mexico, and the birds were there very fat, and

238 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

excellent eating. They preferred the sandy plains and the
dry tracks of the cotton teams. The call-note was low and
weak. The nest is placed in a slight depression in the
ground, lined with a little grass or a few leaves.

In the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1843 the late Mr. F. Bond, in a
note dated March 28th, stated that a specimen of the
Buff-breasted Sandpiper, obtained on the Sussex coast, had
lately come into his possession. Not more than fifteen
specimens have been recorded as having been met with in
the British Islands.

BARTRAM’S SANDPIPER.

Bartramia longicauda.
*
Tus is another American species, whose visits to this country
are exceedingly rare. Of the habits of a specimen killed
at Low Stead, in Northumberland, Mr. Bolam writes (see
Yarrell’s B. B. vol. iii. p. 44) :—“It was in the habit of
frequenting the long grass or ‘ bents’ with which the links
at Low Stead are covered, and Mr. Henry Grey... informs
me that it was not at all shy,and, when amongst the tall
grass, lay like a Snipe or Woodcock, allowing him to approach
within a few yards of it before rising.... and after flying for
a short distance... it would again drop into the long grass,
or, alighting on the bare sand, would run off to some con-
venient place of shelter. When surprised in the open... it
ran very swiftly, frequently stopping behind a stone, or, after
it had got some distance from him, standing on a slight
hillock or other eminence, and watching his movements, its
tail, all the while, moving up and down with a peculiar sway-
ing motion not observable in any other of the Sandpipers.

BARTRAM’S .SANDPIPER.—COMMON SANDPIPER. 2389

Its note, uttered for the most part when flying, was a shrill
piping whistle.”

On p. 444, op. cit., Dr. E. Coues states that the nest is a
depression of the ground, with a leaf or two, or a few blades
of grass. The food of this bird is principally grasshoppers
and other insects, especially beetles, and berries. It is stated
to be always fat, and delicious eating.

Mr. Dutton, of Eastbourne, states in the ‘ Zoologist,’
p. 9118, that he purchased at a sale of birds belonging to the
late Mr. Wille, of Lewes, a beautiful specimen of Bartram’s
Sandpiper, shot at Newhaven sometime between 1836 and
1840. This is the first instance of the occurrence of this
species in England on record.

COMMON SANDPIPER.
Totanus hypoleucus.

Tuts species, known also as the Summer Snipe and the
Wagtail, is migratory, making its first appearance in April,
and remaining till the end of September. It is seldom met
with on the sea-shore, but frequents the river banks, and
those of most of the larger ponds throughout the county;
and is said occasionally to breed with us. I cannot, how-
ever, confirm this, except that I once picked up a single egg,
which I still have, on a little strip of pebbly. sand, left by
the tide of the Adur, but although I then watched a pair of
these birds for a long time, and again on the next day, I
failed to find the nest. When wounded I have seen the bird
swim and dive well, and it is then very difficult to catch.
It is very good eating, especially when potted. As it is
generally seen in pairs, it seems very strange that the nest

240 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX,

has been so seldom met with in the county. Mr. R. Gray,
in his ‘ Birds of the West of Scotland, p. 297, states that
on the banks of the Clyde he has even seen the bird making
its nest in flower-pots, under bushes, and among growing
plants, frequently in turnip fields. It is very cheerful and
lively, generally running from stone to stone very rapidly,
perching on one of them, and wagging its tail up and down,
uttering the while a few soft piping notes, which it also does
while on the wing. I once found the nest by the edge of
Bala Lake in N. Wales, constructed of little pieces of some
dead water-plant, a quantity of which had drifted along the
margin of the lake. The stomachs of several which I shot
on the banks of the Adur were filled with minute freshwater
shrimps, and small univalve mollusks, chiefly Turbo ulve.

SPOTTED SANDPIPER.

Totanus macularius.

Or the occurrence of this American species in England there
are but few instances recorded. Of these two were shot in
Sussex, near Eastbourne. At the request of Mr. J. H.
Gurney, I went there and ascertained from Mr. Bates,
naturalist, that they had been shot at the Crumbles pond,
near that town, in October 1866. One of them was pur-
chased by Mr. Gurney, and the other Mr. Bates retained,
declining to let me have it. The habits of this species are
said to be so similar to those of the Common Sandpiper that
the description of that species will equally apply to this.

GREEN SANDPIPER. 241

GREEN SANDPIPER.

Totanus ochropus.

THE appearances of this bird are so erratic that it is im-
possible to say when it arrives or departs. I have myself shot
or seen generally single birds, and twice three together, in
April, May, August, September, October, and November, and
it can neither be called common nor rare. Nearly all I have
met with have risen from some little insignificant pond or
pool, dug in the meadows for the watering of the cattle. It
also frequents streams in woods, and the banks of rivers and
brooks at a distance from the sea.

When disturbed it goes off with a flight like that of a
Snipe, but generally silently, though I have occasionally
heard it utter a triple piping note. I have never met with
or heard of it on the coast, and there is no known instance
of its breeding in Sussex. Where it does breed it is said to
lay its eggs in the deserted nest of some other bird, some-
times in a tree at a great height from the ground. Mr.
Knox (O. R. p. 230) makes this statement:—“In June
1843 I observed four on the borders of a pond through
which ran a clear trout stream at Cocking, near Midhurst.
... When disturbed at the pond the birds used to retire
into the great woods in the immediate neighbourhood.”
My. Harting, in his ‘ Birds of Middlesex,’ p. 175, observes
that it is more sluggish in its movements than the Common
Sandpiper, and that ‘it bores for its food, which consists
chiefly of small beetles, as well as spiders, very small red
worms, and woodlice.”’

The only specimen recorded as having occurred in Sussex
in July is that noted by Mr. Jeffery, who met with one near
Chichester, in that month in 1868.

R

242 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

Markwick, in his Catalogue (Linn. Trans, vol. iv. p. 21),
writing of the Green and the Wood Sandpipers, says,
“These birds agree so nearly in size, mode of living, and
other respects, that they are with the greatest probability
supposed to be only varieties of the same species, perhaps
tale and female.”

WOOD SANDPIPER.

Totanus glareola.

Tis species is much rarer than the last. With the ex-
ception of June and July, when it departs to its breeding-
quarters on the Continent, it may be occasionally met with
at any time, in various parts of the county§ rarely on the
sea-shore, occasionally in streams running through woods,
but more frequently on open marshes or bogs. I find from
my own notes that Mr. Ellman informed me by letter that
he obtained a specimen in August 1851, at the Tide Mill,
near Newhaven; in the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 3279), speaking of
the same example, he says it was in company with some
Dunlins, and when they rose it remained alone, thereby
attracting his attention and leading him to shoot it. About
the same time I saw at Mr. Swaysland’s two others shot
near Shoreham. On August 16th, 1862, Mr. Smith shot a
pair on Henfield Common, and gave me one of them. It
was, however, too high to preserve. The other fell in an
inaccessible part of the bog and was unfortunately lost.
The two were together and uttered a sharp note on the wing.
Another was obtained on the same common on August 17th,
1868 ; it was alone, and is now in my collection. I have
seen one of these Sandpipers, which was shot near a pond

WOOD SANDPIPER.—COMMON REDSHANK. 943

at King’s Farm, Cowfold, but cannot give the date. Mr.
Knox (0. R. p. 231) states that Mr. Swaysland informed
him that four were secured near Worthing, in September
1851.

Mr. Jeffery, in his p. n., mentions one shot near Pagham,
on October 10th, 1864, and another, at the same place, in
August 1865, which was sent to Chichester Museum ;
another, also at Pagham, in 1866, and a fourth at Itchenor,
on May 10th, 1880.

With respect to the flight of the Wood Sandpiper, Mr.
Hancock, who found the only nest known to have been
taken in England, states that it flies in circles, and at
every change in the direction of its flight, a musical,
sharp, and itrilling sound may be heard, which endures for
several seconds, at the same time the wings are observed to
strike the air with a short, rapid, tremulous motion, which,
there is little reason to doubt, causes this remarkable sound.
See his ‘Birds of Northumberland and Durham,’ p. 121.
Its food is insects and worms. The nest is placed in the
thickest herbage of the marsh, and is very difficult to
discover. It does not breed in Sussex. -

COMMON REDSHANK.

Totanus calidris.

Tuz Redshank, generally known to the shore-shooter as the

Redlegs, is resident throughout the year, and is one of the

commonest species of its genus, frequenting the mud flats

of our estuaries in considerable flocks as soon as they begin

to be uncovered by the tide; retiring, as the water rises,
R2

244 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

to short distances inland, and returning again to their feeding-
places with singular punctuality.

It is a very noisy bird. Its cry is extremely musical, and
so loud that it may be heard in still weather for upwards of
a mile. When feeding on the mud it frequently jumps
up in order to thrust its bill with the greater force into it,
constantly nodding and bobbing its head and running with
great celerity from spot to spot. Its food consists of small.
worms and crustacea. The Redshank still breeds in a few
places in Sussex, such as Pevensey Level, whence I have
received its eggs within the last few years.

In Yarrell’s B. B. (vol. iii. p. 471) we find the following :—
“The nest is well described by Col. W. V. Legge, who says
that it is well concealed in the centre of a green tuft of
grass, the blades of which are carefully bent over the top,
and the openings, by which the bird enters and leaves the
nest, being closed up on her quitting it,—only a few tracks
in the surrounding herbage betraying its existence.”

It is not now much valued for the table, but we find
in ‘The Earl of Northumberland’s Household Book’
(p. 105) :—*“ Item, Redeshankes to be bought at Principall
Feestes for my Lordes own Mees after j* ob. the pece.”

In some Natural History Notes made by Mr. G. O. Rope
during his stay at Iken, on the River Alde, in the spring of
1888 (‘ Zoologist,’ 3rd s. pp. 327, 328), he states :—“ A pair
of Redshanks very clamorous to-day (May 16), at the top of
the cliff, having evidently young ones close by; they kept
alighting from time to time on the top of one of the oaks
overhanging the saltings, uttering all the time their loud
and impressive alarm notes. It is a common practice with
these birds, when they have young about the saltings, to
alight on these trees; and should anyone chance to pass
nearer than they like to the chicks squatting among the
rushes, several pairs of Redshanks may often be seen to-

COMMON REDSHANK.—SPOTTED REDSHANK. 245°

gether wheeling and screaming about the oaks, and perching
from time to time on the upper twigs. Every now and then
they dash suddenly to the ground, where, as well as when
on the trees, they continually keep up the curious jerking
bow, so characteristic of this bird.”

SPOTTED REDSHANK.

Totanus fuscus.

TuoucH much rarer than the last described species, the
Spotted Redshank has in many instances been met with in
the county. Though occasionally feeding on the mud at
the mouths of harbours and estuaries, it is more addicted to
freshwater ponds inland than the Common Redshank, and
is sometimes met with many miles from the sea. From my
own notes I select the following instances of its occurrence :—
My. Ellman informed me by letter that he shot an adult
male in autumnal plumage near Eastbourne on Sept. 6th,
1851. In the same month I saw at Mr. Swaysland’s two
specimens, one shot at Shoreham, the other at Amberley ;
the latter contained in its stomach a perfect specimen of
Lymneus pereger; both had nearly assumed the winter
plumage. On August 28rd, 1889, a specimen just changing
from the summer to the autumnal plumage was shot by the
side of a small pond on King’s Farm, Cowfold. This is in
my own collection, and is the darkest I have ever met
with in Sussex. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) records one shot on
August 25th, 1860, and another on the 14th of the same
month in 1863, a third on August 29th, 1864, and a fourth
on September 26th, 1866, all at Sidlesham ; also one shot at

° 246 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

Pagham, in November of the same year, and an immature
specimen on August 10th, 1869.

The nest was first discovered by Mr. John Wolley, and is
described by him as placed in the driest situation possible,
even on hills of a considerable height covered with forest
timber, two of which nests he saw; one was on ground
which had evidently been burnt at some former period.
They were both nearly at the top of long hills, many
hundred yards from any marshy place, among diminutive
heather and suchlike plants, growing thinly among rein-
deer lichen in slight depressions on the ground, and the
bedding was only a few dry leaves of Scotch fir. The bird
sits very close, and when it rises, either gets up direct or
runs a short distance first, and then flies round with an occa-
sional “¢jeuty,’ or stands upon the top of a neighbour-
ing tree, showing the full length of its slender legs, neck,
and bill.

GREENSHANK.

Totanus canescens.

In the first week in May the Greenshank makes its appear-
ance on our coast, though it does not remain long before it
retires to its breeding-stations, whence it reappears with
its young in the beginning of August, and leaves for the
winter by the end of October. It is seldom seen in larger
parties than from four to six, and is very vigilant and diffi-
cult of approach, which makes it by no means a favourite
with the shore-shooting fraternity, as it rises with a great
clamour and disturbs all the birds within hearing. This
cry is uttered in a melodious tone, and is very loud,

GREENSHANK.—BLACK-TAILED GODWIT. 247

resembling the syllables “ cherwut,cherwut.” It occasion-
ally accompanies the flocks of Redshanks on the mud of the
harbours &c., and has sometimes, though very rarely, been
found inland by the side of a brook or in a meadow on its
horders. Its food consists of insects, fish, worms, and small
crustacea. If it comes to deep water while wading it will
swim without hesitation, and dives well.

From its wildness it is not often shot, but I have in
my own notes mention of its occurrence at Old Shoreham,
October 12th, 1838, and two out of four were shot after a
very heavy gale from the south-west, on September 19th,
1840; also of one in May, and another on September 15th,
1843. I have also received specimens from Pagham and
from Chichester Harbour. Mr. Dennis obtained one, shot
in October 1854 near the Cuckmere River, and a few others
at various times along the coast.

During the breeding-season the Greenshank will some-
times perch on trees. The nest is described in Yarrell’s
B. B. (vol. iii. p. 485) as consisting of a few fragments of
heath and some blades of grass placed in a cavity scraped
in the turf in an exposed place. It breeds in many parts of
Scotland.

BLACK-TAILED GODWIT.

Limosa cegocephala.

Tur Black-tailed Godwit appears occasionally on our coast
on migration, but is much less numerous than the Bar-
tailed species. It is in fact a rare bird, and frequents
marshy spots inland more than the mud flats, feeding
principally on freshwater univalves and mollusks. It bred

248 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

formerly on the fens of England, but there is no known
instance of its nesting in Sussex.

Mr. Knox states that it has been killed once or twice in
an immature state at Amberley, also on Pevensey Levels
and the Rye Marshes, and that a mae and female, killed at
Sidlesham, are in Chichester Museum (O. R. p. 282). ©
Mr. Gordon, in his ‘ History of Harting,’ mentions one shot
at Black Rye Pond in the autumn of 1858. Mr. Jeffery
(p. n.) records that one was shot on fresh water near Bird-
ham, on August 6th, 1853; another on a freshwater pond
near Ashling, August 24th, 1854, contaming remains of
insects and of marine and freshwater shells, and a portion
of fine gravel. A young bird of this year was shot at
Pagham, and five more were seen on August 29th, 1865;
and one was shot at Bosham on the 4th September, 1867.
The nest is concealed in the coarse herbage of the swamps
and meadows, and is composed of dry grass and other
weeds.

When disturbed they are very vociferous, flying round and
uttering a sound resembling “grutty, grutty.”” Mr. Seebohm,
speaking of a nest which he found in Jutland, in his
“ British Birds” (vol. iii. p: 165), remarks that it was a
mere hollow in the short coarse herbage on the dry part of

the ground, somewhat deep, and lined with a handful of dry
grass,

BAR-TAILED GODWIT.

Limosa lapponica.

Tue Bar-tailed Godwit arrives in May so regularly that the
12th is known as Godwit day; but far greater numbers

BAR-TAILED GODWIT.—COMMON CURLEW. 249

appear in August, and until they are disturbed they are
exceedingly tame; but being much prized for the table,
they are persecuted by the gunner and soon become very
shy and wary. Formerly they were fattened on bread and
milk, and fetched a very high price.

They frequent the mud flats throughout the winter,
retirig to the beach at high tides, and feed on various
worms, shellfish, and insects, probing for them with their
long bills, and sweeping from side to side, and are common
all along the coast, but are seldom met with inland. They
breed in Lapland, and on the Petchora, and various places
in the north of Europe. Mr. Wolley obtained the eggs in
Finland. The nest is very slight,—a little dry grass or short
herbage placed in a depression in the ground. Mr. J. H.
Gurney, jun., in his paper on “The Spring Migration of
Birds at St. Leonards ” in the ‘ Transactions of the Norfolk
and Norwich Naturalists’ Society ’ (vol. iii. p. 174), observes
that a single Bar-tailed Godwit had frequented a small marsh
at Bexhill for several days, when on the 10th of May it was
joined by twenty-five more, of which about one third were
in full breeding-plumage. On another occasion he observed
that the Godwits kept apart from the smaller Waders, and
that they did not object to the waves splashing them,
though they sometimes almost lifted them off their feet.

COMMON CURLEW.
Numenius arquata.
Tuts species is found in great abundance on the mud flats

in spring and autumn, and at high water the birds retire to the
full of the beach, or to a short distance inland. They are

250 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

generally very wild, and have always a sentinel on the
watch, whose voice is so loud that he gives notice to all the
birds on the shore; and it is seldom that a shot can be
obtained except by the most careful manceuvring. It is,
however, worth some trouble, as the flesh is exceedingly
good and fetches a high price in the market.

Willughby mentions that in Suffolk there is a proverb :—

“A Curlew, be she white or be she black,
She carries twelve pence on her back”;

and it is one of the luxuries mentioned in the ‘Northum-
berland Household Book ’:—“ Item, Kyrlewes to be hadde for
my Lord’s owne Mees at Principall Feestes, and to be at
xii’ a pece.”

They feed greatly on cockles and on mussels, crustacea,
and small shelled snails, especially Helix ericetorum. As
soon as the rocks begin to show above water along line of
these birds may be seen to arrive, uttering their loud cry
of “ corlieu.” In April they formerly retired to the South
Downs, where I have often observed them, particularly on
the wide expanse known as Plumpton Plain, between Ditch-
ling Beacon and Lewes, which was, some fifty years ago,
covered with coarse grass, especially Brachydactyla pinnata,
among which I always thought it must be nesting, from its
constantly flying round and uttering an oft-repeated cry of
“Wha-up.” I never, however, succeeded in finding the
eggs. In the breeding-season it betakes itself to moorlands
and open wastes, in the Western, Midland, and Northern
Counties, and to the mountains of Wales and Scotland,
where it forms a slight nest on the ground, of dry leaves or
grass placed in a tuft of rushes.

WHIMBREL. 251

WHIMBREL.

Numenius pheopus.

A rew Whimbrels arrive on our coast in April, and in May
they become so numerous as to have obtained the name of
May-birds, soon, however, departing to their breeding-places.
This bird is known also as the “ Titterel,”’ and is found in little
flocks on the beach at high water, scattering over the mud
or sand when the tide is out. Although the main body has
left by the end of May, a few may occasionally be met with
late in the autumn; for example, Mr. Jeffery records (p. n.)
that several were seen at Pagham, on October 8rd, 1864,
and one or two are occasionally observed in the summer.
Mr. Dennis states that he found one to contain the claws
and other fragments of small crabs, and mentions flocks of
Whimbrel on the coast near Cuckmere in May. The Whim-
brel has a loud clear note, and is very difficult of approach.

It much more often goes inland to feed than does the
Curlew, and picks up insects and worms as well as small
land shells. At the breeding-season it goes as far north as
Iceland. Yarrell (B. B.vol.iii. p.508) statesthat Major Feilden
found a dozen nests in the Faroes, and that the bird is very
pugnacious, driving off even the Common Skua and the
Lesser Black-backed Gull, uttering its sharp trilling cry of
“Tetty, tetty’? while darting to and fro with arrow-like
flight.

252 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

GAVIA.
LARIDE.
THE BLACK TERN.

Hydrochelidon nigra.

Tue Black Tern may be considered a rare visitor, occurring
occasionally on inland ponds and large pieces of fresh water
at a distance from the sea. On August 27th, 1853, I
observed a small Tern, which I have no doubt was nigra,
flying about over the water near the bay of Knepp Pond, or
rather Lake, as it consists of about 80 acres, during a very
heavy gale from the south-west ; notwithstanding which it
seemed to be hawking for insects.

Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 253) merely calls it a rare bird in
Sussex, and states that it has occasionally been killed at the
spring and autumn migrations, or returning from its summer
quarters in more inland counties. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) re-
cords one, in winter plumage, shot at Ratham on the 22nd
September, 1850; a female and a young bird at Sidlesham,
May 5th, 1860, the former in full summer-plumage ; and on
October 9th, 1865, another young bird at Pagham, In the
‘ Zoologist ’ (p. 2803) a specimen is recorded by Mr. Potter,
which was shot at Balmer, about six miles from Lewes, where
it had been seen hawking for insects, for about an hour, over
the surface of a freshwater pond.

Mr. Booth, in his ‘ Rough Notes,’ states that small flocks,
flying eastward, usually put in an appearance in the Channel,
off the coast of Sussex, during the last week in April, and

WHITE-WINGED BLACK TERN. 253

that the flight continues throughout May; also that he has
repeatedly seen them in the muddy harbours of Sussex.

The Black Tern formerly bred on the marshes about Rye
and in the Pevensey Levels, but has long ceased to do so. It
also bred in Kent, and in the great fens of Norfolk, Lincoln-
shire, and Cambridgeshire, from which last locality I still
have eggs which were taken in a very wet part of Quy fen
about fifty years ago. The nest is placed ina tuft of sedge
or rushes in a shallow pool, and lined with pieces of half-
decayed water-weeds. The bird feeds on dragon-flies and
other insects, as well as on small fish.

Its flight, which I watched with great interest in Holland,
is exceedingly buoyant and bat-like.

Several other specimens have been obtained inland, of
which I have not the dates.

WHITE-WINGED BLACK TERN.
Hydrochelidon leucoptera.

Tus species is, in fact, much more an inhabitant of the
southern than of the northern regions, and its occurrence in
Britain is merely as an accidental wanderer, and there appear
to be only two recorded instances of its having occurred in
Sussex. In May 1878 an adult specimen was killed at South
Weighton, near Newhaven, and was preserved for a gentleman
residing in that neighbourhood, of which a notice was sent to
‘The Field’ of November 13th, 1875, by Mr. T. Colgate,
jun. A second example is recorded in the same paper of
June 19, 1875, by Mr. Clark Kennedy, as killed some few
years previously at Eastbourne. The Black Tern and the
present species have never been found breeding in company,

254 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

Its food, nidification, and general habits, resemble those of
the preceding species. The note is said to be harsher and
louder.

THE GULL-BILLED TERN.
Sterna anglica.

Tue recognition of this very distinct species is due to Mon-
tagu, whose type specimen, described and figured by him in
the Supplement to his Ornithological Dictionary, was shot
by himself in Sussex, and should be now preserved, with the
rest of his collection in the British Museum ; though the late
Mr. G. R. Gray, in his ‘Catalogue of British Birds in the
Collection of the British Museum,’ p. 241, assigned Kent as
the locality of the only example in that collection enrolled
by him. Be that as it may, there can be no doubt that this
county (Sussex) furnished the subject upon which this species
is based, a fact the more remarkable wnen its extraordinarily
wide range throughout the world is considered. It isnot only
found breeding in some localities in Europe from Denmark
southwards, but apparently across the whole of Asia and its
islands to Australia, as well as on the Atlantic coast of
America from Connecticut to probably Brazil. At first, Mon-
tagu thought that the bird he obtained in Sussex—he unfor-
tunately does not give the precise locality or date—was an
example of the Sandwich Tern, which species had not long
before been described by Latham ; but on becoming the pos-
sessor of his type specimen of that species, which should
now be in the British Museum, Montagu, of course, saw
how very distinct they were, and accordingly did not hesitate
to describe the present one as new. From his statement that

GULL-BILLED TERN, 255

not only had he shot his original specimen in Sussex, but
that he had known others killed about Rye, we might be
entitled to infer that the Gull-billed Tern may have in those
days bred on our shores ; but perhaps it might be safer not
so to do, even though we might be tempted to adopt the
contrary belief, from an assertion of the late Mr. Rodd
(‘Birds of Cornwall,’ p. 166) that a private collection at
Penzance contains a bird of this species, presented by Mr.
Rice of South Hill, together with a portion of an egg which
dropped when he shot the bird near Brighton. I find in my
own notes that in the first week of May, 1855, a very perfect
Specimen, in full summer plumage, was shot halfway between
Shoreham and Brighton. On examining this example I
found that the head was not jet-black, as described by Yarrell,
but glossed with the same green colour which pervades the
plumage of the Crested Cormorant. This specimen was
preserved by Mr. Pratt, of Brighton. Mr. Knox records (O.
R. p. 253) that he has a specimen killed at Rye, and there is
another in the Chichester Museum which was obtained at
Selsey on March 31st, 1852. Mr. Yarrell (B. B. vol. iii.
p. 5384) says that the Gull-billed Tern breeds on islands or
sand-banks in lagoons, the nests being merely slight: hollows,
with, at times, a few bits of sea-weed or dry grass for a lining,
and that its food consists of frogs, crabs, and fish; that it
‘feeds also on grasshoppers and beetles, which it captures on
the wing, and that the flight is very graceful, though not very
rapid. It is partial to lakes of fresh or brackish water, and
forms a natural link between the Marsh Terns and those
which frequent the coast. A Gull-billed Tern was shot out
of a party of three, near Portslade, and was preserved by Mr.
Pratt, of Brighton, June 27, 1855.

256 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

THE SANDWICH TERN.
Sterna cantiaca.

Tuis Tern may be seen on our coast every spring, though it
is never very numercus. Arriving in April, it remains the
greater part of the summer, and may be met with occasionally
all along the shore. It does not now breed in the county,
though formerly the eggs were not unfrequently found on
the extensive tract of beach in the neighbourhood of Win-
chelsea and Rye. It now goes further north in the breeding-
season. The nest consists purely of a depression in the sand,
or occasionally it is placed among the drifted.sea-weed above
high-water mark.

The voice is powerful, and may be heard from a great dis-
tance, resembling the words “kirhitt, kirhitt.” The bird
feeds on insects and small fish. In my own notes I have the fol-
lowing :—* A Sandwich Tern was shot off Brighton in the
first week of April 1844, in full summer plumage : another
similar specimen near Shoreham in the beginning of May
1866.” Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 243) says that specimens have
been obtained at Pevensey, Rye, and Selsey, in May and June,
and in the autumnal months. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) mentions
an immature bird, a female, shot at Pagham Harbour, on
October 12th, 1861, and an adult male at Sidlesham on May
11th, 1863.

ROSEATE TERN.—COMMON TERN, 257

ROSEATE TERN.
Sterna dougalli.

Tus is the most elegant, as well as the rarest, of our native
Terns. I can find but one record of its having visited the
Sussex coast, viz. that of Mr. Southwell, of Norwich, in the
‘Zoologist’ for 1885 (p. 481), stating that a specimen in the
collection of Mr. Rising, of Horsey, near Great Yarmouth,
was shot on the Sussex coast, near Eastbourne, about the
year 1848. At the sale of this collection in September, 1885,
the bird was purchased by Mr. Ashmead, the taxidermist of
Bishopsgate Street, London.

This Tern formerly bred on one of the Scilly Isles, and
more lately on the Farnes, as well as on a few islands off the
coast of Scotland and Ireland. Though it has a very wide
range, its diminution at all its breeding-quarters leads one
to fear that it is doomed to become an extinct species.

COMMON TERN.
Sterna fluviatilis.

Tus is the most abundant of all the Terns on the coast of
Sussex, known also as the Sea-Swallow, and is a constant
summer visitant. Our rivers not being sufficiently large to
induce it to go far inland, it is, with us, rarely met with far
from the sea.

It occasionally occurs, however, on some of the larger

pieces of water, feeding principally on small fish. On the
s

258 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

18th of September, 1839, there being a very large flood on
the Henfield Level, I observed several of this species flying
over the water, and was much interested in watching the
perseverance with which they beat against a strong gale till,
arriving a a certain point, they would at once turn and dart
before the wind with immense velocity to the , furthest
extremity of the water, and again beat up, although the
wind was so strong that they sometimes appeared almost
stationary; and this they did for an hour or more, when
I left them. On the same day a solitary bird was shot
on the River Ouse, at Lindfield, at least fifteen miles from
the sea.

Mr. Jeffery states (p. n.) that after a heavy gale eighteen
of these birds were shot in Chichester Harbour on April 18th,
1866; one of them, which he examined, contained fourteen
or fifteen common shrimps. Mr. Jeffery also mentions that
one was shot over a small pond at Ashling, where it was
so intent on catching small gold-fish that it would not be
driven away, and was found on examination to contain five
or six of them. The Common Tern formerly bred on the
beach from Rye Harbour to beyond Winchelsea, and a
few continue to do so. The nest is a mere shallow hole
scratched in the sand or shingle or placed among the drifted
sea-weed, and lined with little pieces of sea-thrift or dry
grass.

ARCTIC TERN 269

ARCTIC TERN.

ra

Sterna macrura.

Tue Arctic Tern is frequently seen in company with the
Sea-Swallow. On the 18th, 19th, and 20th of May, 1842, a
continuous stream of small flocks of the former species passed
all along the coast of Sussex. There must have been several
thousands of them, and many hundreds were wantonly shot
from the beach, especially at Brighton. I well remember
hearing of numbers having appeared on the Cam from Cam-
bridge to Ely. In fact, this extraordinary visitation appears
to have been general. In the Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (pp.
352, 353) it is stated by Mr. H. E. Strickland that these
birds were abundant at Clevedon, Weston, and Bristol, at
which last place more than two hundred were killed; also
that on the 8th and 9th of May one bird-stuffer at Evesham
received no less than forty specimens, and that considerable
numbers were obtained at Tewkesbury, Worcester, Hereford,
Devizes, and Trowbridge; and that he was informed that
seven hundred were seen at Crofton Hall, near Bromsgrove.
Numbers also appeared at Swansea, Monmouth, and Bridg-
water, as well as in Dorsetshire and Cornwall.

In October 1843 several adult birds and a young one
were shot near Shoreham. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) remarks
that a large flight of Arctic, Common, and Lesser Terns
were seen swimming in Pagham Harbour on October 11,
1865.

Mr. Knox states that the Arctic Tern is more numerous in
May and June on the shingle at Pevensey than the Common
Tern. Mr. J. H. Gurney states, on the authority of

82

260 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

Mr. Dutton, that he believes it still breeds near St. Leonards,
that there is a considerable colony at Pevensey, and that with
the help of a dog, without which it is almost impossible to dis-
cover them, he found eight nests of three eggs each and three
with only one. Its food and habits are similar to those of
the Common Tern. _

LESSER TERN.
Sterna minuta.

Turis, the smallest of our British Terns, is not very plentiful,
though it occurs all along the coast and breeds with us in a
few places, particularly in the eastward portion of the county,
making its first appearance in May. It feeds on surface-
swimming crustacea and small fish, on which it pounces while
on the wing.

It is occasionally met with off Shoreham and Worthing,
and there is a colony at Rye. Mr. Jeffery notes that on
May 9th, 1864, five were shot in Pagham Harbour, and that
he had examined an immature specimen shot at the same
place, and found it crammed with small fish. He also says
that on May 20th, 1866, four were shot at Sidlesham, and on
the same day thirteen were killed there at two shots. Its
habits and the situation of its nest are similar to those of the
Common Tern. In large floods and in heavy gales it is now
and then found on fresh water at a considerable distance
from the sea.

SABINE’S GULL. 261

SABINE’S GULL.
Aema sabinii.

Tuts Gull is a rare straggler to the British coast, being an
inhabitant of the polar regions. It was first noticed by
Captain, afterwards General Sir Edward Sabine, when
accompanying one of the expeditions in search of a North-
West passage, on a group of low rocks on the west coast of
Greenland. It gets its food on the sea beach, standing
near the water’s edge, and picking up the marine insects
which are cast ashore. See Mr. Dresser’s ‘ Birds of Europe,’
vol. viil. p. 338.

In the severe weather of December 1853, a specimen of
this Gull was obtained by the gardener of Mr. Catt, at the
Tide Mill, near Newhaven; it was an immature bird, and
was recorded by me in the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 4408). Another
immature specimen was picked up in a dying state at Hove
in September 1871; on examination there were no shot-
marks found on the skin, and as it was in good condition, it
seems probable that it had flown against some object. It is
now in my own collection. Mr. Dawson Rowley records
another in the same plumage, shot at Hove during a severe
equinoctial gale on October 7th, 1858; and lastly one is
mentioned by Mr. Harting in his ‘Handbook of B. B.’ on
the authority of Mr. J. H. Gurney, as killed near East-
bourne, October 18th, 1870. In addition to the above I am
informed by Mr. Pratt, of Queen’s Road, Brighton, that he
had received one, killed at Black Rock, near that town,
and two from Portslade.

262 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

BONAPARTIAN GULL.
Larus philadelphia.

Tus exceedingly rare straggler has only once occurred on
the coast of Sussex, and was first noticed by Mr. Cecil
Smith, of Bishop’s Lydeard, Taunton, while looking through
the collection of Mr. F. Persehouse, of Torquay. It was in
the same plumage as that of the centre figure in Yarrell.
The following is Mr. Persehouse’s account of its capture :—
“Tt is some years since I shot it, and I cannot supply the
exact date, but it was early in November 1870, at St.
Leonards-on-Sea, at the west end of the promenade. It
was with a number of Black-headed and Kittiwake Gulls,
and I mistook it at first for L. minutus. It is an immature
specimen.” (‘ Zoologist,’ 1883, p. 120.) It was reported in
the ‘ Field’ of April 14th, 1888. Mr. Persehouse showed
me this example when I was at Torquay. I think it was in
1872.

LITTLE GULL.
Larus minutus.

An immature specimen was shot by Mr. Dennis on October
16th, 1846, as it passed over his head, while on the beach at
Seaford, on the western side of the bay, after a heavy gale
from the east. It was then thought a very rare bird.

I purchased a Little Gull which had been shot near Lewes
on the 29th of November, 1849, in winter plumage, and
nearly mature; and in the same winter Mr. Dennis obtained

LITTLE GULL. 263

an immature bird, which I saw at the Rectory at East
Blatchington. It was brought to him alive, and covered
with wet blood, by a coastguardsman who had shot it at
Seaford. It had, however, quite recovered and was very
tame, readily taking raw meat from the hand, and would
scold at a great rate if not attended to. It bad learned to
beg for food, and was just getting into mature plumage,
when it was accidentally killed by the slamming of a door
on June 16th, 1850. A coloured drawing of this specimen
was sent to Mr. Knox by Mrs. Rickman, of Lewes. See O.
R. p. 254, where is mentioned another example which was
shot by a fisherman near Brighton on November 10th, 1853,
and preserved by Mr. Swaysland. Mr. Jeffery (p.n.) records
one, now in Chichester Museum, shot December Ist, 1868 ;
another at Chidham, January Ist, 1870; one at Selsey,
February 1874; a fourth at Fishbourne, December 1876; a
fifth at Pagham, January 1877; and a sixth at Itchenor on
December Ist of the same year. Mr. Dresser (vol. viii.
p- 878) states that it was very common at Novaya Ladoga
in 1852, breeding on small floating islands in a morass. In
the stomachs were found insects which they caught in the
air, making graceful and quick evolutions, in which they
almost surpassed the Goatsucker. Ina marsh in the same
neighbourhood were found by Mr. Meves nests similarly
situated among low plants, often quite close together, of
which some were placed on the edge, and others in the
centre of the islands, and composed of flags, scirpus, and
grass-straws, some carefully, others carelessly constructed.
On examining the birds it was found that they had been
feeding principally on small fishes and on a few insects.

264 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

BLACK-HEADED GULL.

Larus ridibundus.

Tuts Gull is exceedingly abundant on all parts of the coast
throughout the winter, but does not now breed in the
county. It feeds greatly on the cultivated land, where it
follows the plough, as the Rooks do, in search of grubs and
worms.

The nearest breeding-places are on Romney Marsh, in
Kent, and in the neighbourhood of Poole Harbour, Dorset,
but the greater part go to the meres of Norfolk, Lincoln-
shire, and Yorkshire, where they assemble in vast numbers,
and whence their eggs are every year sent ‘ the London
market.

In some seasons from ten to twenty thousand eggs have
been taken. In 1825 they fetched, according to Yarrell
(vol. iii. p. 597), 4d. a score; and in 1870 they were sold
ou the spot at from 9d, to 1s. the score. It breeds in many
other counties of England and Scotland, and as far north as
the Shetland and Faroe Isles. Its note is a hoarse cackle
resembling a laugh. It feeds on crustacea and fish on the
coast, and on any floating garbage, mollusks, and insects,
frequently visiting pastures, where it finds the crane-fly,
of which it is particularly fond. It also catches chafers on
the wing, and will feed on mice and small birds as well as
on corn.

The flight is very beautiful and buoyant. Not long ago
I was much interested in watching the evolutions of these
Gulls on the Caledonian Canal, where they followed the
steamer from Inverness to Fort Augustus. This is also
called the Peewit Gull.

BLACK-HEADED GULL. 265

On the 23rd of February, 1853, I received a so-called
Masked Gull, Larus capistratus, which had been taken alive
off Brighton, on a hook baited with liver. I turned it down
on my pond, hoping to observe its changes of plumage. On
the 24th of April in the same year I find this note :—“ The
Gull caught off Brighton, February 22nd, has this day
completed its change from the winter to the summer
plumage, having assumed a black, or rather dark brown
semi-hood on the upper part of the head, not extending
backward beyond the eyes—the back of the head, as well as
that of the neck, remaining pure white.” It fed well on
barley and oats. By the 4th of August it had assumed a few
speck-like white feathers round the eyes, and they remained
unchanged till late in the month of September, when it
resumed its winter plumage, the same as when I first
received it. The next spring the changes were similar, but
on December 4th, 1854, I was sorry to find it dead and
nearly eaten by a Great Black-backed Gull, by which it had
never before been ill-treated, having lived with it in amity
for many months.

[Respecting the Laughing Gull, L. atricilla, which was
admitted as a British species in the three former editions of
Yarrell, I find the following among some notes kindly lent
me by Mr. Thomas Parkin, of Halton, Hastings :—*« At a
meeting of the Zoological Society, held early in March 1884,
Mr. Howard Saunders made some observations on the
specimen of ZL. atricilla in the British Museum, said to be
the one killed by Montagu at Winchelsea, and came to the
conclusion that the bird in question was not that of Mon-
tagu.” Accordingly, in the last edition of Yarrell (vol. iii.
p- 606), he states that it was admitted into the British list

266 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

owing to a misapprehension on the part of Montagu and his
contemporaries.

Rhodostethia rosea.—Respecting the so-called Ross’s Rosy
Gull, recorded by Mr. Ellman (‘ Zoologist,’ p. 3388), the
specimen was shown to me, and I told him that it was
merely an unusually rosy example of L. ridibundus; but as
he was not satisfied, I, to satisfy him, took it to the British
Museum, thinking to compare it with others. There was,
however, no specimen of Ross’s Gull there, but Dr. John
Edward Gray quite agreed with me that it was L. ridi-
bundus.

COMMON GULL. .,

Larus canus:

TuoveH called the Common Gull, it is not nearly so abundant
as the Black-headed Gull, but from autumn to spring it may
be found along the coast, more particularly about the harbours,
where it may be seen picking up the floating refuse among
the shipping. It also follows the plough, like ZL. ridibundus,
and feeds on similar substances. In confinement it may be
kept in good condition on maize, barley, or wheat. In
heavy gales it is sometimes driven far inland. Yarrell
describes the nest as large, whether on marsh or rock, and
constructed of sea-weeds, heather, grass, and sea-pink. On
some of the Scctch lakes I have observed it perching on
trees,

HERRING-GULL. 267

HERRING-GULL.
Larus argentatus.

In the mature state this Gull is known on some parts of the
coast as the “Cob,” and.in the immature as the “ Grey
Cob ” or “ Wagell,” and is perhaps the commonest of the
genus all through the summer. It feeds greatly on grain,
often doing considerable damage by digging up and devour-
ing the corn just as it is beginning to sprout, and is said in
very hard weather to bite out and devour pieces from the
turnip roots. It also eats fish, mice, small mussels, &c.,
and is a great destroyer of eggs in its breeding-places, even
pillaging the nests of its congeners. It often goes far
inland for food, following the plough, or turning up the soil
of.the newly-ploughed fields.

The Herring-Gull is a dangerous pet, as it will murder
any of its companions it can master, and eat them too.

The nests are generally formed of dry grass and sea-weed.
These birds are frequently seen to trample the sand, probably
to make the worms rise to the surface. Large flights often
follow the herring-boats in the Channel to pick up the
refuse fish and crustacea, which are thrown overboard after
a haul, and on these occasions they are very noisy and
quarrelsome. Unless this is the reason, it is difficult to say
whence the name of Herring-Gull is derived, as that fish
does not seem to be an especial favourite with this Gull.
It is frequently seen to take up cockles, mussels, &c.,
to great heights in the air, dropping them on the rocks to
break the shells.

Having kept some of these birds for several years, I had

268 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

an excellent opportunity of observing their notes, of which
they have a considerable variety, at times resembling the
bark of a small dog, at others the mewing of a cat in
distress ; this is uttered with the neck stretched out hori-
zontally, close to the ground. It has also a note much
resembling the sharp cry of an Eagle; the head and bill are
then pointed straight upward toward the sky, the bird
raising itself to its full height, and stretching up its neck to
its greatest length. It is very dexterous in catching insects,
both on and in the water as well as on the wing. It was
very amusing to watch these Gulls sitting round a Duck
whilst she was laying her egg, which was no sooner done than
one of them would stick his bill into it and run off, till one of
the others overtaking him, he would drop it, and it would
be seized by another, till the egg was broken, when there
was a general fight for the contents. This Gull breeds in
small numbers in the cliff near Newhaven. I am informed
by Mr. Bates, naturalist, Eastbourne, that it breeds also
on the cliff just to the westward of Belle Tout Lighthouse.

LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.

Larus fuscus.

Mr. Knox calls this Gull far from common, and says that a
few breed at Newhaven; I do not think it now breeds in
the county, and I doubt whether it does so anywhere on
the south coast. It is certainly not so numerous as
the Herring-Gull, and it spends the greater part of its
time further out at sea, where considerable flocks attend
the herring-boats, even pulling the fish out of the nets, and
being so troublesome that Mr. Booth tells us he has been

GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. 269

requested by fishermen to shoot them. A few may occa-
sionally be seen about Brighton, especially attracted hy the
fish which are lost on the unlading of the boats; and at
the great outfall of the Brighton sewage, a couple of miles
or so east of the town, large numbers are often seen picking
up the floating garbage. They are said to be much more
partial to inland lakes than the Herring-Gull, and, as with
the other larger species of Gull, birds in immature plumage
are more common than adults. In confinement they will do
well on greaves and maize, and are fond of mice and small
birds, which they always swallow whole, having first dipped
them in water. Mr. Booth mentions that in Caithness large
numbers nest on the dampest part of the flats in the central
portions of the county, or on the rocky ledges of the north-
west, and on the stretch of marsh land surrounding the
inland lochs and pools in the outlying islands. He also
states that he fully believes that this Gull does not attain
its mature plumage until five years old.

GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL.
Larus marinus.

Tus noble Gull may be found at all seasons round our
coast, and frequently goes far inland, especially in rough
weather. On November 20th, 1854, one of these birds was
brought me which had been taken alive on Broadmere
Common, near Henfield, with its feet and bill so clogged
with the tenacious Wealden clay that it could not rise from
the ground. It was an adult, in the finest winter plumage ;
it seemed perfectly unconcerned, and would eat any flesh

270: THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

which was thrown to it. I only kept it a few days and
restored it to the man who caught it, fearing it might
maltreat-some of my other pets if turned down with them.
This Gull has been accused of attacking young lambs or
weakly sheep, but of this I have no proof, and I have never
heard of its interfering in any way with the vast flocks of sheep
on the South Downs. It feeds on the foulest carrion, dead
fish, or any wounded bird it can find, often attending the
gunners when in search of wildfowl. It may be easily
caught in traps baited with a piece of flesh. On the coast
it forms a roughly constructed nest, on the upper ledge of a
cliff, or in a cavity among the bare stones, composed of
coarse herbage and sea-weed, or on the islands of a loch, or
on the open moor.

GLAUCOUS GULL.
Larus glaucus.

A somewnar rare visitant to our coast, though from time
to time a considerable number have been met with.

1 have a note that, in December 1852, Mr. Dennis had a
specimen brought him which had been taken at Seaford,
which so severely bit the man who caught it that he refused
to touch it again, and Mr. Dennis had to get the bird into a
basket; it was in not quite mature plumage. Another of
my notes records that at the beginning of January 1859 an
immature specimen was shot off Shoreham. This bird was
flying very high, in company with two others which appeared
to be similar.

Mr. Knox mentions (O. R. p. 255) an immature bird
taken by a boy from the Chain Pier at Brighton, by means

GLAUCOUS GULL. 271

of the click, which consists of a piece of cork rudely
fashioned after the likeness of a fish, over which is spread
the skin of a mackerel, from which the hooks project, baited
with morsels of liver, a long line being attached to it and
allowed to float with the. tide—many Gulls of different
species being taken in this way every year.

Mr. Booth mentions that he saw a mature Glaucous Gull
flying between St. Leonards and the sea, and that on the
following day a specimen exactly resembling it was brought
to a bird-stuffer in that town, which had been shot on the
large expanse of shingle that stretches along the shore
adjoining Pevensey Level. Mr. Jeffery notes one which was
shot at Selsey, in January 1870, and passed into his collection ;
another, now in Chichester Museum, shot at the same place
January 15th, 1873; and in 1882, in the same month, an
immature specimen obtained at Itchenor.

In the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 6606) Mr. Wilson has recorded one
killed at Worthing in December 1857, with no remark.
The Glaucous Gull being a comparatively rare winter visitor,
I give from Mr. Dresser’s ‘ Birds of Europe’ (vol. viii. p. 437)
the following description of its habits, which, he says, assimi-
late closely to those of the Great Black-backed Gull. Like
that species, it is extremely voracious, and commits great
depredations amongst the eggs and young of other sea-birds
and water-fowl, and, to a large extent, it feeds both its young
and itself on the eggs and nestlings in down of its weaker
neighbours, and renders itself a perfect pest to them. The
young of the Eider, and of several other of the sea-ducks, are
looked on by it as tender morsels ; and in places in the extreme
north, where these birds breed in large numbers, the Glaucous
Gull is almost sure to be present, devouring many of the
young, pouncing down on and catching them just as it
requires them. It doubtless also catches the smaller species
of mammals, and waits to take possession of the remnants

272 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

left by the seal-hunters when they have cut up a seal;
wherever the carcass of a whale or seal is cast ashore, these
Gulls collect together, like vultures, to regale on it. The
call-note, or cry, of this species closely resembles that of L.
marinus, as does also its flight; but where the two species
are found they keep apart in separate flocks. In its native
Arctic regions, it pertinaciously follows the whaling-ships,
feeding greedily on the blubber.

ICELAND GULL.
Larus leucopterus.

Tuts is even rarer as a visitor than the last-described species.
An immature specimen is said, by Mr. Knox, to have been
shot near Pagham in January 1852, which was placed in
Chichester Museum.

In December 1889, or the following month, an Iceland Gull,
also immature, was brought to Mr. Pratt, which had been
shot at the outfall of the Brighton sewage at Bolsover. Of its
habits little has been recorded. Mr. Saxby, in his ‘ Birds of
Shetland,’ p. 337, observes that this bird “ seems to be partial
to vegetable food, often resorting to the fields, where it may
not seldom be seen near the pigs, which in Shetland are
tethered by long ropes fastened to a stone or to a stake in
the ground. Possibly the earth-worms rooted up may be an
attraction. In the stomach I have found a considerable
quantity of oats and vegetable fibre, with numerous small
pieces of quartz.” It breeds plentifully in Greenland, and
also in North America, laying its eggs in a mere depression
scratched in the ground.

In the ‘ Field,’ April 10th, 1890, Mr. G. H. Nelson records

ICELAND GULL.—KITTIWAKE GULL. 273

that he shot an Iceland Gull, at Beachy Head, on January
21st, 1880.

It requires very careful examination to distinguish the
young of this species from that of the Glaucous Gull. I
have no doubt respecting the example received by Mr. Pratt,
as mentioned above. The specimens of the Glaucous Gull
often vary greatly in size.

KITTIWAKE GULL.

Rissa tridactyla.

Tue Kittiwake frequents our coast throughout the year, but
is most abundant in spring and autumn, feeding on surface-
swimming fish and crustacea. In heavy gales, and when
the sea is too rough for it, it is often found inland in large
flocks, but seldom goes far from the shore in calm weather.
It may often be seen following the plough, and some years ago
one was caught at Cowfold, with its feet and legs so weighted
with clay that it could not rise;—this is about twelve miles
from the sea.

It does not now breed in Sussex, but on many parts of the
north and west coasts its nest is placed on narrow ledges of
the cliffs, and is formed of sea-weed. Great numbers are
usually placed in close proximity.

The plumage is in great demand with the ‘ plumassier,”’
the barred wings of the young bird being most in fashion.

Mr. Booth states that at Clovelly, opposite Lundy Island,
vast numbers were annually slain, and there was a regular
staff for preparing the plumage. In many cases the wings
were torn off and the live birds thrown back into the water,

and this abominable cruelty and destruction, commencing on
T

274 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX:

August 1st, continued for a fortnight. Hundreds of young
birds were left dead and dying from starvation in their nests.
On one day seven hundred were sent to Clovelly, on another
five hundred, and so on, about nine thousand of these birds
being destroyed in the course of this wanton onslaught upon
them. The Kittiwake is said to be very good eating. In
Yarrell (B. B. vol. iii. p. 654) is found the following :—‘“ In
olden times this Gull was considered good food, and Sir Robert
Sibbald says that ‘The Kittiweak is as good meat as a
partridge, an opinion endorsed in later times by those
inhabitants of Scotland who relish Gannets. There is an
old story, told by Pennant, of a gentleman who, as a
whet to his appetite before dinner, ate sia and did not find
himself a bit less hungry than when he began. Sir James
C. Ross says, ‘We killed enough to supply our party with
several excellent meals, and found them delicious food,
perfectly free from any unpleasant flavour.’ ¥

IVORY GULL.
Pagophila eburnea.

Tus inhabitant of the Arctic regions is an extremely rare
visitor to our coast. In its native haunts it feeds on the
blubber of whales and seals, and on any animal matter, putrid
orfresh. The first egg of this bird, the only one in the nest,
was found by Sir Leopold M°Clintock on the beach of one
of the Polynia Islands, by him named Ireland’s Eye, in latitude
78°, during the Arctic Expedition of 1852-53. He brought .
this egg to Ireland, and it is now in the Museum of the Royal
Dublin Society. He states that the nest was built of moss,
with a little white down and a few feathers. See‘ Ibis,’ 1866,

IVORY GULL.—GREAT SKUA. 275

p- 217. Yarrell (B. B. vol. iii. p. 659) observes that
Dr. Malmgren found a number of this species established in
the lower niches of the rocks and precipices in Murchison
‘Bay (lat. 80° N., long 30° E.), at a height of a hundred feet ;
that two nests were reached, and proved to be shallow depres-
sions lined with dry plants, grass, and moss, with a few
feathers. ach contained one much-incubated egg, which
were placed in the Stockholm Museum, but one of them is
now in the collection of Professor Newton. Mr. Knox
(O. R. pp. 253, 254) states that it has been obtained twice
near Brighton, and that he had seen a specimen at Mr. John-
son’s, chemist, St. Leonards-on-Sea, which was found on the
beach in a dying state; and mentions that during the winter
of 1848 an example occurred near Rye.

Mr. Wilson (‘ Zoologist,’ p. 6606), in a list of birds shot near
Worthing, includes “Ivory Gull, 1845,” without further
notice; and Mr. Ellman, writing in the same journal
September 28rd, 1848, says that he saw at a bird-stuffer’s at
Hastings a few weeks before an Ivory Gull which he told
him was shot in that neighbourhood a short time previously
(p. 2804).

GREAT SKUA.
Stercorarius catarrhactes.

Tux first mention of this species in my notes is that in
January 1830 an adult specimen was picked up dead off
the Chain Pier at Brighton. It was floating in the sea, and
appeared to have been some days in the water, but was
preserved for my collection. Another, in good condition,
was caught on a hook by a fisherman off Brighton, Novem-
ber 10th, 1846, in perfect plumage, and proved very tame,
£2

276 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

almost suffering itself to be taken by the hand; this also
is in my collection. A third was caught off Brighton in
November 1851; on February 5th, 1880, I saw one flying
off Brighton, so near the shore that I could see the white
bar on the wing; and on the 7th, a bird, probably the
same, was shown me at Mr. Pratt’s. It was in good
condition, though most of those taken on our coast have
been in a somewhat emaciated state. Mr. Knox (O. R.
p. 259) states, without further date, that one was caught
on the beach at Brighton in November while eating a
dead cat, from which it was with difficulty separated; he
also mentions another, killed at Worthing, and my bird
of 1830.

The Great Skua watches the Gulls feeding, and when one
has taken a fish, immediately gives chase, till the persecuted
bird is obliged to drop—or if swallowed to disgorge—its
prey, and the Skua picks it up before it reaches the water.
It feeds also on the blubber of whales and seals, and on
flesh and carrion of every kind, which its powerful beak and
sharp hooked claws are well adapted for tearing in pieces.
The only British breeding-places are in the Shetland Isles.
The nest is stated in Yarrell (B. B. vol. iii. p. 665) to be a
neatly rounded cavity in the moss or heather of the highest
moorlands. It is a very courageous bird, and in defence of
its nest or young will attack man or beast.

Mr. Jeffery (‘Zoologist,’ p. 811, s.s.) records that on
February 6th, 1867, one was caught alive, which had lost
au eye in conflict with another bird, and was purchased
for the Chichester Museum.

POMATORHINE SKUA. 277

POMATORHINE SKUA.
Stercorarius pomatorhinus.

I rinp, in my own notes, the record of an immature example
of this Skua, shot at Hangleton by Mr. Hardwick of that
place, on October 27th, 1837. In 1841 two more were shot,
the one, at Shoreham Harbour, on October 17th, the other,
which was immature, at Brighton on November 2nd. The
former was moulting, particularly about the head and neck,
the long feathers of those parts having lost the greater
portion of the straw-coloured tips.

Mr. Dennis, writing in October 1857, tells: me that a
piece of flooded ground, near Seaford, was visited by a small
flock of Skuas, and that he shot two of this species; the
mouth of one of them was crammed with earth-worms. He
also informed me on another occasion that an adult speci-
men was shot at Seaford on October 27th, 1858. Yarrell
(B. B. vol. iii. p. 668) observes that the first notice of this
bird, as British, appears in the Catalogue of Mr. Bullock’s
collection, sold in 1819, in which was a specimen said to
have been killed at Brighton *. Mr. Knox merely remarks
that the species had been shot at Brighton, Shoreham,
Bognor, Newhaven, and Hastings.

Mr. Booth states that numbers are occasionally seen in
the Channel, and that during a terrible gale from the south
on October 24th, 1852, a small party of Skuas of this
species were blown inland at Shoreham, and settled for a
time in a stubble field, and that the whole number were in

* Prof. Newton’s annotated copy of this Catalogue shows that the
specimen was bought by Dr. Leach for the British Museum, and it is
entered in Mr. G. R. Gray’s ‘Catalogue of British Birds’ in that
Collection with the locality “North Britain” !

278 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

immature plumage. He says that he had seldom met with
these birds at any distance from the shore. . They seldom
attack the larger Gulls, but follow the herring-boats, and rob
the smaller ones and the Terns of the fish they steal from the
nets. The nest has not been found in Britain.

In the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 8331), Mr. Ellman notes a pair
shot off Hastings in the early part of October 1851; and in
the same work Mr. Jeffery gives the following quotation
from the ‘West Sussex Gazette’ of Dec. 28th, 1865,
(p. 142, s. 8.):— A few days ago, as a young man named
Collins was wheeling a barrow in a lane, loaded with flesh
for dogs, he was suddenly startled by the appearance of a
large bird alighting on the flesh, and beginning rapidly to
make a meal from it. The young man stepped back to the
roadside, and took a long piece of string from his pocket,
with which to form a noose. The bird had flown a short
distance during this operation. Two sticks were placed on
the flesh and the noose laid on them. With the end of the
string in his hand he stood back three or four yards; the
bird soon came again, and stepping into the noose was
easily captured. It was kept several days alive, but from
being confined in too small a place its feathers became
worn.” The bird was presented to Mr, A. E. Knox,
who, in acknowledging it, wrote that it was the only adult
specimen of the species he had ever met with in Sussex,
“the breast being of a dirty white instead of the usual
mottled brown, which is characteristic of the immature
bird.”

Mr. Dutton, ‘ Zoologist? (p. 1099), writes that a few of
these birds generally occur in the sprat season in November,
and that four, all immature, were shot off Eastbourne in
that month of 1867,

ARCTIC OR RICHARDSON’S SKUA. 279

ARCTIC on RICHARDSON’S SKUA.
Stercorarius crepidatus.

Arrerr a tremendous gale on September 16th, 1840, one of
this species was killed with a stone on the beach at Brighton,
in the dark plumage*, and having the middle tail-feathers
considerably elongated.

A second but immature example was killed at Worthing on
November 2nd, 1841, and on November 5th, 1843, another,
in plumage more nearly matured than either of the above,
the head and neck being much lighter in colour, and the
two middle tail-feathers more elongated. Thus far my own
notes. Mr. Dennis informed me that he had killed one on
a flooded meadow near Seaford, on October 8th, 1857.

It is the smallest Skua which breeds in the British Islands,
the nest being constructed of moss, short grass, and heather,
and, like the other Skuas, it defends its eggs with great
boldness, and like them, wages a perpetual war with the
smaller Gulls. Mr. Booth found it breeding on the moors
of Caithness, as it also does in the Outer Hebrides. Hewit-
son says that the cry of this species at its nest more nearly
resembles that of a cat than of a bird.

T have a specimen which was caught on a hook off the
Chain Pier at Brighton, in November 1844. Mr. Thorncroft,
of that town, records, in the ‘ Zoologist ’ (p. 3054), that he
killed a Richardson’s Skua about two miles from Brighton,
on January 24th, 1850; and Mr. Jeffery saw a bird of this
species in the flesh, at Chichester, on November 5th, 1878,

* It was from a specimen in this plumage that the well-known Arctic
Gull, or Skua, was redescribed as a distinct species under the name of
Richardson’s Skua.

280 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

“with the hair-like yellow streaks appearing on the sides of
the neck, and one of the central tail-feathers extending
about three inches beyond the rest; the other was missing,”
(See ‘ Zoologist,’ p. 3828, s. s.)

LONG-TAILED or BUFFON’S SKUA.

Stercorarius parasiticus.

Tuis is the rarest of the Skuas found on our coast. I have
one which was shot on a flooded meadow in the Adur Level,
near Henfield, in October 1862. It was swimming about
alone, and was very tame. This example is in full adult
plumage. Mr. Jeffery mentions that in the beginning of
October he saw a Buffon’s Skua which was killed at Don-
nington while flying over some fields; it was in the mottled
plumage, the central tail-feathers projecting about an inch.
This was in December 1873. He also says that one was
obtained in the Manhood, a part of Chichester, in October
1879. This Skua feeds on fish, crustacea, insects, lemmings,
and small birds, and on the berries of several plants found
on the mountains.

The nest is a mere depression in the ground, with a very
slight lining of grass. Mr. Booth says that it probably
passes to its breeding-places in April, and that in 1875 he
was frequently out in the Channel from six to twelve miles
off the Sussex coast, and on several occasions, between the
11th and 28rd of that month, fell in with single birds as well
as small parties. A few obtained as specimens were in full
breeding-plumage, and others in plumage otherwise the
same, but without the long tail-feathers, all being mature,

FULMAR PETREL. 281

FULMAR PETREL.
Fulmaris glacialis.

Tue appearances of the Fulmar are exceedingly rare on our
coast. I have in my own collection a specimen which was
found dead on the beach, near Brighton, on Oct. 7, 1852;
and Mr, Dennis told me that he obtained another, which
was washed up alive on the shore under Seaford Head,
December 21, 1858, and was roughly stuffed by a bricklayer.
This had been wounded by shot, one of its legs having been
shattered, but it was healed when taken. It was restuffed by
Mr. Pratt. The Fulmar keeps for the most part at a con-
siderable distance from the land.

In the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 598), another specimen is recorded
by me, which was found dead on the beach at Brighton, near
Black Rock, January 30, 1858. It was quite fresh, and had
evidently been recently shot.

In the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1887 (p. 28), Mr. F. V. Theobald
records a specimen picked up in an exhausted state near Rye
a year before, and shown to him by a bird-stuffer at St.
Leonards. Mr. Parkin (p. n.) has the following :—“ Fulmar
Petrel picked up dead on the beach between Winchelsea and
Fairlight. Brought to Mr. Sorell, of Hastings, for preser-
vation. The bird was in a very emaciated condition, and
seemed as if it had been starved.”’ All the specimens men-
tioned were obtained after heavy gules.

In St. Kilda the Fulmar breeds in countless numbers,
selecting for the site of its nest places where the cliff, al-
though very precipitous, is covered with grass, sorrel, and
other plants, and in some parts of these cliffs the ground is
almost white with sitting Fulmars. The bird often makes a
hole sufficient to half conceal it. The nests are very slight, and

282 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

are often dispensed with altogether. More generally a little
dry grass is the only material used. This bird when handled
emits a quantity of oil, and the whole bird is impregnated.
with a scent which has been compared to exaggerated musk,
so strong that it still retains it even though it may have been
stuffed for years. It is a very voracious feeder, robbing the
herring nets, and seizing on masses of blubber even when
the men are engaged in flensing a whale.

SOOTY SHEARWATER.
Puffinus griseus.

Tur first example obtained in Sussex was, I believe, one
brought to Mr. Dennis, respecting which he” tells me, in a
letter dated July 4th, 1850, that it was picked up dead after
a gale, under the cliff at Seaford, a few days previously. Of
its habits little appears to be known. It is said to burrow in
peaty ground for three or four feet horizontally, and then
turning slightly to the right or left, to construct a rude
nest of twigs and leaves, in which it deposits a single egg.
In New Zealand, where it is said to breed, the Maories
esteem the young birds as a delicacy, and hold them over
their mouths to swallow the oily matter which they disgorge.
The old birds roost on shore, and are very noisy during the
night. The food of this Shearwater is of the same nature as
that of its congeners. (See Yarrell, B. B. vol. iv. p. 19.)
Mr. Parkin, of Hastings, sent me notice that a male of
this species was shot off that town on the 3rd of September,
1890. This example was taken to Mr. Bristow, the well-
known naturalist of St. Leonards-on-Sea, by whom it has
been beautifully motnted, and it is now in my collection. I

SOOTY SHEARWATER._MANX SHEARWATER. 283

have lately met with a lady who had spent a summer in |

Madeira, and informed me that a bird, which she thought
from my specimens was the Sooty Shearwater, was an occa-
sional visitor to that island, flying about at night uttering
most fearful screams, which were considered by the natives
as an omen of evil, especially if heard by a sick person. The
lady also said that she had been told that the bird used its
hooked bill in the manner of a Parrot while climbing about
the rocks, and that it bred in the Desertas.

MANX SHEARWATER.

Puffinus anglorum.

THIs species occurs on our coast occasionally, but cannot be
called common. In February 1854 I heard from Mr. Den-
nis that four adult Manx Shearwaters were seen in Seaford
Bay. Mr. Knox merely states that it is an unusual and acci-
dental visitor to this part of the English Channel. It breeds
in the Scilly Isles, on the Calf of Man, many of the Hebrides,
and. the Orkneys, and at St. Kilda it is one of the commonest
birds. Its food is principally composed of small cuttlefish,
mollusks, and scraps of offal found floating in the sea. It
also eats great quantities of sorrel, and the remains of sea-
weed have been found in its interior. It burrows in the
ground like the Puffin, the holes being sometimes very
long, and often under large masses of rock; the nests are
merely little bunches of dried grass. Its note may be expressed
as “ Kitty-coo-roo,” and at night it is very garrulous.

Mr. Parkin, in his p. n., states that a fine specimen was
obtained at Bexhill, August 18th, 1882. Mr. Booth writes
that the flight of this bird when viewed for the first time is
sure to attract attention, as it glides with an undulating

284 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

motion over the water, and may be readily recognized at
almost any distance. In the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 6606) we find
the following from Mr. John Wilson :—“ Manx Shearwater,
1847,” in a list of rare birds near Worthing, with no remark.
And on p. 9102, for 1864, Mr. Dutton writes of this bird
that one was shot off Beachy Head about two years since,
which came into his possession. In the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 391
of the volume for 1890), Mr. T. R. Harden, of Hastings, states
“that on going into the garden of a house at Hurst Green,
in August 1882, he saw a strange bird coming towards him
in apparently a very exhausted state, which alighted in the
garden, and was caught by his dog, when he found it to be a
Manx Shearwater. A strong south-western gale was blowing
at the time, and Hastings, the nearest sea-point, is fourteen
miles distant. He has it still, preserved.”

FORK-TAILED or LEACH’S PETREL.

Cymochorea leucorrhoa.

Tus species is much less common than the Storm Petrel,
most of the specimens met with having been driven ashore,
or even far inland, by heavy storms. J have noted that on
November 15th, 1840, two were picked up dead on the beach
at Brighton; one of them had lost a foot, but the stump was
perfectly healed and covered by two scutes ; and on December
2nd in the same year, one was picked up dead and much de-
composed, near Lancing, about a mile from the shore, having
no doubt been driven in by the same gale. On November
28rd, 1841, a specimen was shot from the beach between
Shoreham and Hove, and another from a boat off Brighton,
This latter was attracted by liver which had been thrown out

FORK-TAILED OR LEACH’S PETREL. 285

for the Gulls. On November 3rd, 1859, an example in very
perfect plumage, but minus a foot, lost apparently long ago,
was picked up dead on Patches Farm, Cowfold; this also was
after a furious gale, and at least ten miles from the sea.

Mr. Knox mentions its occurrence in many places along
the coast, and specially notices one picked up at Lodsworth,
almost fifteen miles inland. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) mentions
one found dead at Sidlesham, November 25th, 1865, and
two others, on the 28th of the same month, at the same
place; also one shot at Bosham on December 5th, 1866,
which was found to contain pieces of sea-weed, and parts of
the stems and blossoms of sainfoin, and two more obtained
in November and December 1881, one at Dell Quay, the
other at Birdham. Mr. Dennis informed me that a Fork-
tailed Petrel was found alive among the furze at Denton Top,
near Lewes, December 15th, 1856.

In the ‘Zoologist’ (p. 2892) one was recorded by me
which was picked up alive, but in an exhausted state, at Rot-
tingdean, on December 14th, 1849, and Mr. Ellman records
another example which was found dead on the shore at
Brighton, on November 8th, 1850 (p. 2970).

This Petrel breeds on St. Kilda, and on North Rona,
where Mr. Swinburne found it abundant, nesting among
some old ruins, one large main burrow serving for several
pairs of these birds, which made smaller burrows branching
off from it at right angles. The note is said to resemble the
syllables, “ pewrit-pewrit.” It feeds, like the other, on any
greasy substances it can obtain.

In Messrs. Harvie-Brown and Buckley’s ‘Fauna of the
Outer Hebrides, we find, at p. 154, that Sir W. E, Milner
discovered a colouy of these birds on the Dune of St. Kilda
in 1848. He considered that they bred three weeks earlier
than the Storm Petrel. And since his visit there this
species has been found in great abundance on Borreay, one of

286 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

the St. ‘Kilda group; alsoin Mingula and Barray a few pairs
in holes and cracks in the peat, and on several other islands
of the west of Scotland.

STORM PETREL.

Procellaria pelagica.

Tuis Petrel is found in large numbers in the Channel, gener-
ally far out at sea. In my own notesI find that one was
picked up in the churchyard of Hailsham, having been blown
against the spire during the gale of February 26, 1848. Four
specimens of this species were shot about half a mile off
Brighton, on November 5th, 1845, which were preserved by
My. Pratt. In the Isle of Burhou, off Alderney; about the
year 1836, I found this bird in deserted rabbit-burrows, and
took the eggs. I did not see the nests. In each case the
bird allowed me to take it ont, and voided a quantity of oil
and some green substance. I did not see any of the birds on
the wing. It is said to breed on the Scilly Isles, and on
many of those of Scotland, as far north as the Orkneys and
Shetlands.

Mr. Booth says that they are extremely numerous in the
spring, and may be occasionally met with in the autumn;
adding that in the former season, when they are gathering in
the Channel, and on the whole of our coast line, before they
make a move to their northern breeding-stations, they are
to be found almost every day that an attempt is made to
ascertain their whereabouts. Mr. Booth suggests that the
name ‘“ Mother Carey’s Chicken” is a corruption of ‘‘ Madre
cara,” addressed by pious seamen to the Virgin, when
beseeching her to avert a storm,

STORM PETREL.—WILSON’S PETREL. 287

’ Mr. Hewitson, in the 1st edit. of his ‘ Illustrations of the
Eggs of British Birds’ (vol. ii. p. 46), says that he found
the Storm Petrels breeding in Foula, in holes in the cliff,
at a great height above the sea, but in Oxna they were
breeding on the earth, under stones on the beach, at a depth
of three or four feet or more. When walking, he could hear
them chattering under his feet, singing in a sort of warbling
note a good deal like that of the Swallow when hovering over
a chimney, but somewhat harsher. The nests seem to have
been made with little care, of small bits of stalks of plants.
The birds remain in their holes during the day, but at night
surround the fishermen in great numbers as soon as they throw
out portions of fish. Mr. Graham, (‘ The Birds of Iona and
Mull,’ pp. 47, 48), remarks that “ Both the young and the
old ones, when confined in a basket or bag, escape at the
smallest aperture, climbing up the sides like mice, in doing
which they use their hooked bill to pull themselves up with:
it seems to be of more service to them than their claws.”

Again, at p. 96 he observes respecting some young birds of
this species :—“ These little birds seemed to have an irresistible
instinct which led them to attempt to surmount every ob-
stacle which fell in their way. When walking on the table
every book and desk must be climbed by means of the hooked
bill, with the assistance of claws and pinions. When upon
the floor, I have noticed them striving for a considerable
time to ascend the wall of the room.”

WILSON’S PETREL.

Oceanites oceanica.

Tux only occurrence of this Petrel on the coast of Sussex is
that mentioned by Mr. Bond (‘ Zoologist,’ p. 148) as having

288 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

been obtained on the Sussex coast, and lately come into his
possession. It belongs to the Atlantic Ocean. Of its breeding
habits little is known. Mr. Godman, in his ‘ Natural
History of the Azores,’ says (p. 40) :— On returning from
Flores to Fayal, we were becalmed for some hours; and as there
were a good many Petrels flying about, I took the boat be-
longing to the schooner and shot some. They were all of
this [Wilson’s] species, nor did I see any other in the archi-
pelago. In flying they carry their legs stretched straight out
behind them, and their feet protruded about an inch beyond
the tail, producing the effect of two long tail-feathers. I
know nothing about this species breeding in the archipelago,
though I suspect it does, as it remains throughout the year.”

RAZOR-BILL.

Alca torda.

Tue Razor-bill, known also as the Parrot-billed Willock
and the Tinkershere, is found around our coast in every
season of the year, but very few appear to breed on the
Sussex cliffs at the present time, though they are often met
with in the Channel. It breeds in vast numbers on Flam-
borough Head, preferring the highest ledges in the most lofty
parts of the cliff; it makes no nest, but places its single egg
on the bare rock, In June 1881, I was told by the boatmen
there that they frequently laid their eggs in a deep cleft of
the chalk, where they are very difficult to get at. On the
cliffs and on the sea were many hundreds of these birds, and
they were so tame that they suffered themselves to be nearly
touched with an oar, when they merely dived, and generally
came to the surface on the other side of the boat. It is a

RAZOR-BILL.—GUILLEMOT. 289

very silent bird, the only note I heard being an occasional
dull croak. In diving it uses its wings as if flying, pursuing
the fish under water, as well as taking them on the surface.
They are eaten by the fishermen, who bake them, after they
have been skinned and laid in fresh water.

Mr. Booth states that he has frequently remarked that
during winter, “ previous to the setting in of stormy weather
in the Channel, Razor-bills were exceedingly restless,
immense flocks of these and other Divers being seen on
wing making their way either east or west for several hours.
No general movement to any distance appeared to be taken ;
within a day or two the stream of birds would probably be
seen taking an opposite course. At times, when the fry of fish
are plentiful. . . . I have seen these birds perfectly crammed.
with food, snapping up the glittering morsels by merely
dipping their heads below the surface without diving... .
I am not acquainted with any breeding-stations of this
species . . . within many miles of the Sussex coast... .
That such still exist, however, is evident, as a fisherman who
was working his shrimp-net over the sands near Shoreham, on
9th of August 1883, captured in the shallow water a young
one that had strayed some distance from the old bird.”
He further says that the fisherman took the young one
home, but his wife killed it, as it constantly cried for food.
Mr. Dutton says that the Razor-bill breeds on the cliffs
about Eastbourne (‘ Zoologist,’ p. 9101).

GUILLEMOT.
Uria troile.

Genzratty known as the Willock, formerly bred abundantly

on Beachy Head ; but owing to incessant persecution, there
u

296 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

are not now more than two or three pairs. Mr. Booth
states that on April 23rd, 1874, “thousands of this species
were observed in the Channel, some nine or ten miles out at
sea, off Brighton. Several large flocks flew east during the
day, but the majority were floating motionless on the glassy
surface of the water, unruffled by a breath of air. These
birds were, with few exceptions, in full summer plumage,
only a single specimen in the perfect winter dress being
noticed.” The Guillemot flies with great speed, but rises
with difficulty at all times, flapping along the water for some
time before getting well on the wing, and if fully fed, it will
not rise, but merely dives, and when mounting to the top
of the cliff, makes several circles before it can attain the
necessary height. The egg is placed on the bare rock,
generally on the middle ledges of the cliffs, without any nest.
Long rows of Guillemots may be observed in such places as
Flamborough Head sitting close together, most of them
with their white breasts toward the sea. Their food and
habits are similar to those of the Razor-bill.

On November 28th, 1850, I saw, at Mr. Swaysland’s, an
immature specimen of the variety known as the Ringed
Guillemot, which was formerly considered a distinct species.
It had been shot off the Chain Pier at Brighton on Oct. 22nd.

Mr. Dennis informs me that on July 4th, 1850, as he was
walking near Seaford, his attention was called by a child to
a “duck” which was sitting on some wreck driving about in
Seaford Bay. He ran down to the edge of the water, and
fired at the bird, which was hard hit and unable to fly, but
every time he approached it contrived to elude him. By
hiding behind a groyne he got another shot with a cartridge
and knocked the bird under water; on rising it was feet
uppermost. His spaniel dashed in for it, but it did battle
with its bill and fairly drove the dog off. He then fired
again, and the dog fetched it out. It proved to be a Ringed

GUILLEMOT.— BLACK GUILLEMOT, 291

Guillemot, and was preserved by Mr. Swaysland. Mr. Dennis
sent another specimen to the same bird-stuffer on Jan. 8th,
1858, which had been picked up dead under the cliff at
Seaford.

Mr. Booth remarks that in the Channel he has seen
these birds very plentiful on several occasions, and that on
April 23rd, 1884, several were observed eight or nine miles
off Brighton, in perfect winter dress; the white ring and
bridle were still conspicuous, a narrow line of dull white
enclosing the bridle. A bird exhibiting this state of
plumage was shot off Rottingdean, in December 1878.
Mr. Wilson states (‘ Zoologist,’ p. 6606) that a specimen
was taken in a field near Worthing, in August 1854. At
p. 9122, Mr. Dutton records a very beautiful specimen shot
off Eastbourne, April 19th, 1864. .

BLACK GUILLEMOT.
Uria grylle.

Tis Guillemot is only an occasional straggler to the Sussex
coast. It breeds in the rocky cliffs of the coast of Scotland,
more especially on the eastern side, and lives almost entirely
on the open sea, nothing but stress of weather ever bringing
it inland except in the breeding-season. The general habits
of this species are much the same as those of the last
described ; two points of difference are, however, remarkable,
that whereas the Common Guillemot never lays more than
one egg, the present bird always lays two, and instead of
placing them on the higher ledges of the cliffs, it always
chooses a locality in crevices, at a low elevation, under stones
near the water, or even on the sea-shore.

I am informed by Mr. Bristow, the well-known naturalist

u2

292 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

of St. Leonards-on-Sea, that on October 12th, 1882; a
female immature Black Guillemot was shot off that town by
Mr. Maggs. In ‘The Birds of Iona and Mull,’ p. 105,
Mr. Graham states that during incubation these birds sit
erect on their nests, gasping out a plaintive wheezing noise
something like the complainings of a set of very young
kittens. This seems to be their only ery, for, except at this
time of year, they are entirely mute.

LITTLE AUK.
Mergulus alle.

Tue Little Auk is entirely arctic in its breeding-quarters,
and only an occasional visitor to our coasts. The only note
I have of it is the following. On November 5th, 1841, I
noticed a Little Auk sitting on a small rock in a little pool,
close to Portobello, near Brighton. It took to the water and
swam about for a short time, returning again to its station,
Seeing a shrimper a short distance off, I beckoned to him,
and when he disturbed it, it flew to a short distance; but
after chasing it for nearly a mile, he at last caught it. It
was rather curious that it never attempted to get out to sea.
It is now in my collection.

On November 23rd, 1850, I saw one at Mr. Swaysland’s
which had just been caught by some fisherwomen at
Brighton, and another which had been taken about the
same time. In the first week of February 1864, a Little
Auk was caught alive in Lansdowne-place, Brighton, having
been seen to fly against a house during a thick fog. It
appeared uninjured and was in good condition ; the weather
was quite calm at the time. I have another, found dead at
Hurst-Pierpoint, but have lost the date. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.)

LITTLE AUK.—PUFFIN. 298

mentions two taken near Chichester, in the winter of 1858-
59, and another in December 1866. In the ‘ Zoologist’
(p. 2070) Mr. Ellman mentions one obtained near Crawley,
in November 1850.

The Little Auk feeds entirely on small crustacea, and in
the breeding-season the mouth is often crowded with them
for feeding their young, the form of the bill not being
adapted for carrying small fish.

PUFFIN.
Fratercula arctica.

Tue Puffin, Coulterneb, or Sea Parrot, having no breeding-
place on our coast, is not very frequently met with, and of
those which have occurred the greater part have been
washed up dead on the beach, after a heavy storm. A few
are, however, occasionally seen far out in the Channel, as
might be expected, having probably strayed from the Isle of
Wight, where they have a breeding-station. The Puffin
often appropriates the burrow of a rabbit, in which it lays
its single egg ; but more often these birds dig their holes for
themselves, and sometimes to a very considerable distance.
For this purpose they generally select a crumbling soil on a
grassy slope near or upon the top of a cliff. The bite of
the Puffin is said not to be so serious as from the form of
the bill might be expected; but I cannot agree in this
opinion, as I once brought one of these birds out of its hole,
fixed on the top of my finger, which it had bitten to the
bone, and I had to kill it before it would let go. Though it
was sixty years ago, I still bear the marks.

They associate in large numbers at the breeding-places,
at which they arrive and whence they depart with most

294 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

singular regularity, almost always to a day, according to the
custom of the locality. In many places they are exported
in immense numbers, packed in barrels, to Roman Catholic
countries, for use on maigre days. An unusual number of
these birds were, as I heard from Mr. Dennis, washed ashore
near Seaford, by a great gale in January 1853. One, in
full plumage, was brought to him in good order, and several
others were found in various stages of decomposition. The
Puffin feeds on fish and mollusks, and is an excellent diver.
Mr. Jeffery, writing in the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 168, s. s.), states
that one was shot on an arm of Chichester Harbour on
February 7th, 1865; an immature specimen. It is rarely
met with in our harbours.

GREAT NORTHERN DIVER.
Colymbus glacialis.

Tuts splendid Diver, the largest of the genus which visits our
coast, is often found in considerable numbers, making its
first appearance in April, though adult birds may be met with
in the Channel till quite the end of May, and I have seen
many there during these months in various stages of
plumage. The Great Northern Diver is so powerful a
swimmer and so expert in diving that it is exceedingly
difficult to get within shot of it, and then, unless it happen
to be struck on the head or neck, which from these parts
being the first to disappear is not probable, you cannot
make sure of it. When it dives, it rarely appears again
within at least a quarter of a mile, and often sinks so low in
the water as to be very hard te discover.

When caught it is very tenacious of life, and indulges in

GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. 295

most awful screams and vigorously attacks all around it.
It feeds entirely on fish, and is frequently taken in the her-
ring nets. I have had two fine adult specimens, male and
female, brought to me, which had been caught in this man-
ner off Brighton. Mr. Booth remarks that on April 21st,
1874, he noticed half a dozen fine mature birds, together with
three or four in a half-and-half state of plumage, at sea, off
Brighton, and a few days later some Worthing fishermen re-
ported a party of thirteen off Goring, half of which were in
full plumage. Mr. Jeffery (‘ Zoologist,’ p, 3035-6) says that
- a specimen of this bird was picked up on the top of a high
ridge of the chalk down, in the parish of Beddingham, on
December 20th, and that it is in the possession of Mr. P.
Ellman, of that place, by whom it was found. He also records
(on p. 9449) a second, an adult female, killed on December
6th, 1864, and says that another accompanied it, and was
afterwards shot. In the first specimen were found two flat-
fish, and in the second a quantity of fish-bones; he adds
that in the immature state the species is not unfrequently
met with during the winter months. Unless accidentally
driven by tempest, or in the breeding-season, this species
is never seen inland ; it is, in fact, entirely built for swimming,
and owing to the legs being placed so far behind, it cannot
stand upright on them. Except to incubate its eggs, it never
comes on shore, and, in fact, it cannot walk without resting
its breast on the ground. The nest is generally on an island
in alake, always on the edge of the water, and much exposed.
It is slightly and clumsily made of decayed grass and water-
plants, a road being ploughed by the bird from the nest to
the water.

296 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

BLACK-THROATED DIVER.

Colymbus arcticus.

Tus may be considered the rarest of the three Divers, but is
occasionally met with in the Channel, mostly in the imma-
ture’ dress, or while undergoing the change into that of the
adult, Its habits do not appear to differ from those of the
Great Northern Diver. I have a note that one of this
species, in the mature plumage, was shot on the river Adur,
close to Beeding chalk-pit, on March 6th, 1840; also that an
immature example was shot near Crawley, November 28th,
1850, some fourteen miles from the sea.*

Mr. Knox mentions that he has a remarkably fine adult
bird in his collection, which was shot in Chichester Harbour in
the winter of 1845; that he had seen one at the Mechanics’
Institute at Hastings, which had been killed near that town ;
and that a third, in the Chichester Museum, was sent from
Selsey.

Mr. Jeffery in his p. n. alludes to one at Selsey in Janu-
ary 1859, one at Sidlesham in mixed adult and immature
plumage; and says that he saw several at Chichester in
November 1865, and one in full summer plumage in April
1866. He records, in 1873, one at Bosham; in January
1875, several in Chichester Harbour; and one at Bosham in
1877. Mr. Ellman records one in winter plumage, obtained
at Pevensey, in December 1850.

It breeds in Scotland on the mainland in preference to the
little Loch islands, and not so close to the water as the
preceding species.

* T have lately seen a specimen in winter plumage which was shot
some years ago on the lake at Knepp.

RED-THROATED DIVER. 297

RED-THROATED DIVER.

Colymbus septentrionalis.

Tus is the most abundant of all the Divers, following the
shoals of sprats, whence it has obtained the name of Sprat-
loon, devouring these fish in great numbers, as well as
shrimps. Many hundreds of these birds may daily be seen
passing up and down Channel, shifting about in small
parties, particularly in stormy weather. This Diver has a
very powerful flight, often ascending to a great height in
the air, and occasionally uttering its harsh guttural scream,
especially before rain or wind. In rough weather it fre-
quently comes for shelter to our harbours, and a few non-
breeding birds may be found throughout the year. This
species prefers to nest by small lochs and tarns, sometimes
at a considerable altitude.

In Caithness and Sutherland it breeds out on the moors,
making a very little nest, a few yards from the water. The
Divers seem to be wholly constructed for this element, their
mode of progression on land being by pushing themselves
along on their breast.

PODICIPEDIDE.
GREAT CRESTED GREBE.

Podiceps cristatus.

Tu1s Grebe is most commonly found with us in the winter,
but a few seem to be resident, frequenting large ponds where
there are plenty of reeds. Its food consists for the most

298 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

part of eels, small roach, tadpoles, and frogs. It is a great
diver and very seldom seen on land, often swimming with
only the head and neck above water. I am not aware that
it breeds in this county. The bird is rarely to beseen on the
nest, which is composed of a considerable mass of vegetable
matter, half decayed and always very wet and muddy, and so
very low in the water that the eggs, which it always covers
on leaving, are generally considerably stained. It breeds
on several of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads. In severe
weather this bird betakes itself to the sea. All the Grebes
have acurious habit of swallowing their own feathers, a mass
of which is very generally to be found in their interior.

I have a female, taken in the winter plumage, which was
shot on a flood in the Level of the Adur, near Henfield, on
December 20th, 1839; and another, in similar dress, was
obtained at the same place on the 25th. In the winter,
should the sea be very rough, they enter the harbours.

Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) mentions a male sent him from
Sidlesham, the stomach of which was crammed with its own
feathers, the remains of fish, &c.; and others which had been
killed near Chichester contained much the same. He
mentions also several killed in the neighbourhood. The
ordinary note of alarm may be expressed by the syllables
keck, keck, but in the breeding-season its note is a guttural
croak. This Grebe is much prized by the plumassiers.

RED-NECKED GREBE.
Podiceps griseigena.

Tis species is only a winter visitant, and is much rarer
than the preceding, and much more marine in its habits, It
has never been found nesting in this country, and leaves us

RED-NECKED GREBE. 299

before the breeding-season, though it occasionally remains
till it has assumed the plumage of that period before be-
taking itself to Holland, Norway, and Sweden, its nearest
reeding-places.

In my own notes I find that I received a specimen of this
Grebe, which had been shot on Warnham Millpond in
January 1849, in winter plumage. In November 1847, two
specimens were shot off Shoreham, and in the early part of
January 1850, a similar example was killed on Knepp Pond,
in the parish of Shipley, and is now in the possession of a
member of the Burrell family. Mr. Jeffery remarks (in
p. un.) that a female was obtained on December 20th, 1850,
in Chichester Harbour ; a male near Selsey, November 1863,
containing nothing but featbers; a third in August 1870, a
female in full plumage, and with the ovary well developed,
shot at Bosham; and a fourth, sex not noted, containing a
mass of feathers and half-digested shrimps, on January lst,
1870.

Mr. Dennis informs me that one of these Grebes was shot
at Newhaven in the winter of 1844-5, and another at Hope
Gap, Cuckmere, on January 27th, 1857.

Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 126) says that the late
Mr. Dann, writing respecting the breeding of this species
on the Gulf of Bothnia, states that they are by no means
shy, and keep up a constant croaking, and that they do not
use their wings while under water. The nest is described
as placed among aquatic herbage and reeds, being built of
similar decayed material, and the call-note as a loud,
clear keck, keck. The birds feed on small fish, crustacea, and
water-insects; and in one, examined by Montagu, the
stomach was distended by its own feathers and small seeds.
In the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1865, Mr. Jeffery records an example
shot in Pagham Harbour, in February of that year (p. 9582).

300 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

SCLAVONIAN GREBE.

Podiceps auritus.

Tus bird is found on the sea, all along the coast, in spring
and autumn, and, in severe weather, in the estuaries, and the
ditches in the marsh-lands. Itis particularly fond of shallow
water, and chiefly frequents those parts of the coast where
there is an abundance of mussels, among which it seeks for
small fish, crustacea, &c. It is a tame bird when undisturbed,
but when much molested it is difficult to get a shot at. It
has not been found breeding in Britain, but during the nest-
ing-season frequents many parts of the north of Europe.
The late Mr. Proctor, of the Durham University Museum,
found it breeding on fresh water in Iceland, forming a large
nest among the reeds. He states also that +on shooting
one of these birds he saw two young ones which had been
concealed beneath its wings. I have a note of an immature
specimen which was shot on a pond near Woodman-
cote, on February 5th, 1839. In February 1845, I found
one in a brook at Lancing, which on my first approach
dived and remained submerged for a long time, but on
coming up to the surface it took wing, and I obtained it; it
was in full winter plumage. In the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 9540),
it is recorded by Mr. J. H. Gurney, that a Sclavonian
Grebe was found alive, apparently asleep, in a walled garden
by a labourer at Worthing, who caught it and took it to
Mr. Wells, naturalist, March 7, 1865; and at p. 9582 (op.
cit.) Mr. Jeffery mentions one shot in Pagham Harbour
in February, and in p. n. mentions one killed at the head
of Chichester Harbour, on January 31st, 1866. It is stated
in Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 185), that Mr. Benzon found the
nests in Denmark, and that they were not among rushes,
but were on tussocks on the edges of the lakes.

FEARED GREBE. 301

EARED GREBE.
Podiceps nigricollis.

Tuts is the rarest of the family, making its appearance, at
uncertain times, off our coast, and on the pools and rivers,
as well as in the ditches in the levels. Nearly all the speci-
mens being met with in the winter, it is therefore rarely
found in the breeding-plumage, and never nests in this
country, yet the only one I ever shot myself was in that
plumage. I obtained it on the Salts Farm, near Lancing, in
April 1854.

Mr. Booth records one, in his ‘ Rough Notes,’ which had
been caught by a dog in Pevensey Level, and it being put in
a tub of water, he had a good opportunity of examining it.
He further tells us that while shooting between Shoreham
and Worthing, on December 10th, 1879, he came at half-ebb
tide on several of these birds among the old groynes and break-
waters, which form an attractive resort for small fish, shrimps,

. prawns, and other marine animals which here find shelter
among half-decayed piles and planks. “ During the after-
noon,” says Myr. Booth, “I plainly identified every species of
our British Grebes, obtaining specimens in full winter plumage
of the Great Crested, the Red-necked, and Eared, as well as
passing and closely examining several Sclavonian in the shoal
water near the sands,” also seeing a pair of Little Grebes ;
he further adds that one or two other specimens of the Hared
Grebe were obtained by local gunners along the Sussex coast
during the last few years, all in full winter plumage. Mr.
Dennis mentions, in a letter to me, without date, that he had
a beautiful specimen, killed with a stone by a boy at Cuck-
mere.

302 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

LITTLE GREBE.

' Podiceps fluviatilis.

Tue provincial name of the Little Grebe is Dabchick, though
it is occasionally called the Mole-Diver, and it is the most
abundant of its genus. Resident throughout the year, it is
to be found on most of the large pieces of water, preferring
those with plenty of reeds, as well as in the ditches of the
marsh-lands; and, when the fresh water is frozen, often
betaking itself to the brackish pools on the coast, or, not
seldom, to the sea. If approached cautiously, it may be
frequently seen swimming about, apparently picking up some
kind of food from the surface and snapping at insects on the
wing; but on theslightest disturbance‘it dives, and probably
disappears among the reeds. It builds a semi-floating nest,
which looks like a lump of decayed weeds, generally placed
at the edge of the water. If it has eggs, it always covers them
on leaving the nest. I learn from one of my brothers, who has
excellent opportunities of observing its habits, that he has seen
this done by throwing the mud of the nest backwards with its
feet as it dives off from it. The editor of Yarrell (vol. iv.
p. 140) states that Mr. Thurnall, writing to Mr. Bond, observes
that he had seen the bird do it with her beak, Perhaps in this
case she had more time at her disposal than she would have
had on any sudden alarm. The young do not always dive on
being disturbed, for I saw a friend whip in a little one, which
must have been two or three days old, with his fly-line, on
Hawkins’ Pond, in St. Leonards Forest. I have it now, and a
beautiful little creature it is, being in colour like a very young
tabby kitten. It uttered a continual piping like a young
chicken, but weaker. After receiving it in a landing-net, I
carried it in a bag for about two hours, and every now and

LITTLE GREBE. 303

then it uttered the same piping note ; but finding it was being
pressed by a trout in the same bag, I put it into a small
wooden match-box. On arriving at home, I was surprised
to find it alive, and on being put into a basin of water it
swam about, still uttering its little note. When I first
caught it, it could not stand, but carried its legs stretched
out behind; finding it was injured I was obliged to kill it,
which I did by pressure on the breast, and, though only
about 44 inches in length, I was sorry to find it very tena-
cious of life. We afterwards, on the same pond, about ten
yards from the shore, found a nest containing six eggs, care-
fully covered with weeds. All were arranged in the nest with
the points upward, and differed slightly in form, two being
larger at one end than at the other, the rest being pointed at
both, as is most usual. Another circumstance which I
thought remarkable was that some appeared to be much
further advanced in incubation than others.

I was once present at an amusing scene, a man being
brought before the magistrates on a charge of taking a
Partridge’s egg. The witness, a game-keeper, had in his
hand a Chaffinch’s nest, containing several small birds’ eggs,
and a large white one. The chairman told him to hand up
the nest to him, and asked which was the Partridge’s egg.
“The big’un,” replied the keeper with contemptuous assur-
ance, on which he was asked whether he could swear to a
Partridge’s egg when he saw it, and he was very indignant.
The chairman, however, taking a pair of scissors from his
pocket, deliberately cut open the egg, and producing a young
Dabchick, set it upon the desk, observing: ‘ There’s your
Partridge for you,” to the great amusement of the court and
the discomfiture of the keeper. The case was, of course,
dismissed, the chairman recommending the witness to
learn his business before again practising his profession.
The Little Grebe swims with considerable swiftness, and

304 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

stands much more uprightly than its congeners. Its food
consists of small fish, aquatic and other insects, a considerable
quantity of vegetable matter, and, like the rest of the family,
it swallows a large quantity of its own feathers. Mr. Jeffery
tells me that he had seen, at one house at Chichester, the
skins of the breasts of fourteen Little Grebes, cut up the
middle, and sewn together for trimmings. In the ‘ Zoologist’
(p. 1482,s.s.) Mr. J. W. Stephenson states that he had heard
from Worthing, that on the 6th of November, 1868, an un-
usual number of this species were seen at, and in the
neighbourhood of, Lancing. They were said to be “in every
ditch,” and on the following day not one was to be seen.

STEGANOPODES.

PHALACROCORACIDA.

COMMON CORMORANT.

Phalacrocorax carbo.

Tuts entirely marine species, sometimes called the “Isle of
Wight Parson,” from the white marks on the throat some-
what resembling the bands of an ecclesiastic, is by no means
common in the eastern part of the county, and at the
present time it breeds only on Seaford Head; the colony
there being but small, our own birds are supplemented by
an occasional stranger from the Isle of Wight, the next
nearest breeding-place. The Cormorant lives entirely on
fish, especially on eels. It isa great diver, using its wings
under water, as I have had good opportunities of observing
at Staffa, and about the sea-caves on the coast of Mayo. It

COMMON CORMORANT, 305

generally in this country breeds on sea-cliffs; but Mr.
Lubbock, in his ‘Fauna of Norfolk’ (p. 173-4), states
that formerly Cormorants nested on high trees round Fritton
decoy. In a note to p. 174, op. cit., he says that Cormo-
rants use the nests of the Heron.

I visited Horster Meer in Holland, in the summer of 1882,
where, in that immense marsh, we saw the remains of many
Cormorants’ nests of the last year, on the level ground, but,
the marsh being drained, the birds have now abandoned the
locality. The nests, which were about one hundred and
fifty in number, built of sticks and twigs, were greatly decayed,
but still retained a distinct odour of guano. The spot was
slightly elevated above the marsh, and surrounded by coarse
herbage, especially a yellow woolly-leaved plant, I believe
Cineraria palustris, which was growing vigorously. The
Cormorant may occasionally be seen standing on a post or
pile, in the shallow water of the creeks. I saw a young
white-breasted specimen of this bird, on the sixth of Feb-
ruary 1841, which had just been shot, a short distance from
Shoreham Harbour, where it was considered a rare bird.

The place now most frequented by the Cormorant in the
west of Sussex appears to be the estuary north of Thorney
Island, where, some twenty years since, an attempt was
made to enclose a large tract of mud land, which was for
some reason abandoned, but a part of the embankment still
remains, studded with piles, which, Mr. Jeffery informs me,
are a favourite resort of the Cormorant, and that from
twenty to thirty may sometimes be seen perched on their
tops. Mr. Knox (O.R. p. 250) mentions the small colony
established at Seaford Cliff, and that, in time of floods, the
birds occasionally visit the levels of the rivers. I have heard
of a Cormorant having, many years since, been observed on
the spire of Chichester Cathedral. Mr. Dennis tells me

that in the summer of 1844, he saw a Cormorant on a ledge
x

306 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

of Seaford Cliff, and on another occasion saw a person bring
home one egg from thence, but never after heard of them;
an old man told him that there were a great many before the
war, when the soldiers disturbed them *.

The Cormorant is easily domesticated, and is often trained
to catch fish for its master, especially in China and Japan.

All the British Pelecanide or Phalacrocoracide have the
middle toe pectinated. It can be of no use to them for
holding fish, and I have no doubt it is given them to plume
their feathers and to rid themselves of parasites.
" The Cormorant and the Shag are both known to the Sussex
fishermen as the “Scart.” My. Graham, in ‘ Birds of Iona
and Mull’ (p. 177), writing of the former as an article of
food, states, “I am extremely partial to scart soup; it is
identical with hare soup.”

SHAG, or GREEN CORMORANT.
Phalacrocoraz graculus.

Tus bird, known as the “Scart,” is very rarely met
with on our coast, and I never heard of any other Sussex
provincial name for it. Its habits are much the same as
those of the Cormorant; perhaps the greatest exception is,
that this species prefers very dark caverns, or crevices in the
cliffs, for building its nest; however, on those of Dorset they
breed in company. The Shag in diving, as I have often
observed off the Isle of Wight, jumps completely out of the
water. ‘The flight is much like that of the Cormorant, but
never so high. It has a very loud cry, generally, when
alarmed, resembling “ gaw, gaw,” hoarsely uttered. It has
another note something like “ go-a-head,’’ also hoarse.

* Tam told, however, that a few pairs are nesting there at the present
time, April 1890,

SHAG.—GANNET, 307

T understand there are not many Shags now in the Isle
of Wight, where they were formerly in considerable numbers,
on the Culvers at one end, and on the Needles at the other.
An immature specimen was shot at Rottingdean, in November
1890, and preserved by Mr. Pratt. Mr. Booth, speaking of
nests which he had examined on the west coast of Ross-shire,
says in his ‘Rough Notes,’ that they were composed of
heather-stalks and smaller twigs, with stems of ferns and
other plants, closely interwoven, with a cup-shaped lining of
coarse strands of grass and rushes. It does not, however,
breed in Sussex. Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 251) observes that he
had seen one or two examples, immature, which were killed
at Pagham Harbour during the hard winter of 1838-9.

GANNET, or SOLAN GOOSE.

Sula bassana.

A CONSIDERABLE number of Gannets visit the Channel in
winter, generally some eight or ten miles out at sea, seldom
approaching the land, except in very severe storms; the
greater part of them are immature. I think that in their
natural state they feed entirely upon fish, the herring and the
sprat being preferred. They are extremely voracious, and
will take as many as seven or eight large herrings at a meal ;
the elasticity of the throat is so great that, as I was informed
by Mr. Booth, one of those which he had in confinement
swallowed a Guillemot. Its principal breeding places in
Britain are Ailsa Craig, in the Firth of Clyde, Souliskerry,
in the Orkneys, the Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth, and
St. Kilda.

When at liberty, they take their food by plunging down

upon it from a vast height, not by diving, though they do
x2

308 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

dive freely, using the wings under water. The nest is
placed on high cliffs, on the ledges, or grassy slopes on the
tops of them, and is composed of sea-weed and coarse grass,
torn up by the roots in masses, which is continually added
to during incubation.

There have been many instances of the Gannet being picked
up alive, after heavy storms, sometimes far from the sea, as
was the case with one found near Cowfold, and brought to
me alive, with its feet so “clobbed,”’ as the Sussex people
say, with clay, that it could not fly. Another was picked up,
under similar circumstances, at Shipley. In April 1837, an
unusual time of year for this bird to be so far south, a Gannet,
unable to fly, was found at sea off Hastings.

On the 25th of February 1844, I had a Gannet sent me,
which had been caught alive at Kemp Town, Brighton ; he
could not fly, for which I could find no reason. On taking him
out of the hamper, he uttered a loud barking note, and fixed
on my hand, then transferring his attention to my arm ; I
got assistance, and with difficulty succeeded in pinioning
him. On turning him into the water on a fenced pond, he
immediately returned, and gave me a highly unsatisfactory
peck on the leg, and seizing my trousers, shook them as a
dog would a rat. The next day, I tried to drive him into the
water with a stick, but he immediately showed fight, and
flew at my cloak. I had some trouble in getting rid of him,
but at length he was induced to go into the water, when he
swam to a little island, and sitting down remained quiet,
apparently sulky. He refused all food till March 8rd, when
he condescended to pick up a roach. Though I could detect
no difference in the bird, except that he had discontinued his
barking note, he took at once to the water, if ashore, and
kept at a distance. On the 4th I threw him two dead sea-
bream, to which he swam up, but before he came to the
floating fish, thrust the whole head and neck under water

GANNET.—COMMON HERON. 309

about two feet from them, and took them from underneath,
swallowing them whole, head first. After this he became
very tame and would follow me round the pond, taking
greedily pieces of bullock’s liver, which he swallowed as
readily as fish. He frequently sat on the bank in the daytime
with his head under his scapulars*. Should a leaf or twig
fall from a tree he immediately swam out to see what it was,
and in swimming used his legs alternately. When frightened,
he would erect his tail considerably above the water, as he
did also when food was thrown to him. After swallowing
anything, he invariably washed his bill, often immersing the
whole head and neck. Not long after this, I was very sorry
to find him dead on the bank. He would attack strangers,
and I have no doubt had so molested a man whom I had set
to work near the pond that he had kicked him off, which of
course he would not own. I found, however, on taking off
the skin, that the Gannet had a large quantity of extravasated
blood on the muscles of the breast, and that the bird was a
male.

HERODIONES.
ARDEIDZ.

COMMON HERON.
Ardea cinerea.

Sussex is'well supplied with this bird, there being in it three
large heronries, and a few smaller ones. Its food, when in
a natural state, consists of fish (especially eels), frogs, snakes,

* A bird never puts its head under its wing, though it is popularly
supposed to do so; it merely buries it under the feathers of the shoulder,

310 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

and any small mammals it can get, a water-rat being a special
bonne bouche; but in confinement it is not so particular,
feeding greedily even on vegetable matter. In a hard winter
it betakes itself to the sea-coast, the mouths of the rivers,
and the salt-marshes. If wounded, it must be approached
with caution, for it will aim its spear-like bill straight at the
face of anyone stooping to pick it up. I well remember,
many years ago, a man who had his nose nearly split in two
by a Heron, and it will attack a dog with equal ferocity. If
a heronry be near a rookery, there is generally constant
warfare between the Heron and the Rook, the latter carrying
off, if it can, the sticks from the nest of the former, with
which to build its own. Notwithstanding these thievish
propensities of the Rook, the two birds occasionally breed
even on the same tree. In this county, the Heron always
breeds in trees, but in some districts it places ifs nest on the
ledges of high cliffs, and even on the ground. When the
Heron leaves its abode in search of food, which is at dusk, it
frequently flies so high that, were it not for its harsh voice,
it would often pass unnoticed. It returns to the heronry
about two o’clock a.m. In ‘Sussex Archeological Col-
lections’ (vol. xxvii. p, 113) it is noted that a keeper at
Parham, being asked whether it was true that the Heron, at
pairing time, made strange noises, replied, “ Yes, frightful !
Unless you heard them you would never believe it. Some
years ago a rabbiter (sic), going one night to set his traps,
was terribly scared. He thought he heard a woman
murdering a child; the cries and shrieks were fearful. He
was so frightened that he ran off and cried ‘Murder!’
People came to see. He forgot his traps and lost them.”
There is no proof, however, that the terrible sounds pro-
ceeded from the Herons. These birds breed in company.

Mr. Knox, who gives-a most interesting account of his visit
to the Heronry at Parham (O. R. p. 24), thus describes a

COMMON HERON. all

nest :—“The lower and external parts were composed of
sticks from the larch and fir, the material becoming finer
towards the interior, which was lined throughout with very
thin birch twigs, closely matted together. It was much wider
than that of the Rook, and shallower in proportion.” I visited
this heronry in May 1876, and then there were just one
hundred nests, almost all on fir trees—a few on high birches.
A year or two after this, a tremendous gale blew away many of
these nests soon after the young were hatched, and numbers
were destroyed. The heronry is still prospering, and strictly
preserved. Mr. Harting, writing in 1872, gives in his
‘British Heronries’ (p. 8) the following account of the
origin of that at Parham :—“ The ancestors of these Herons
are said to have been brought from Coity Castle, in Wales,
by the falconer of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in Queen
Elizabeth’s time, to Penshurst, whence they migrated, about
sixty or seventy years ago, to Mitchelgrove, near Worthing,
and on the trees there being cut, they went to Parham, in
1832. A portion of the park of Mitchelgrove is in the parish
of Angmering ; and in Horsfield’s ‘ History of Sussex’ (vol.
ii. pp. 140-1) may be found the following :—‘It is very
interesting to observe their early motions during the time of
their incubation. As soon as the morning dawns, they are
seen to congregate, and soon divide themselves into three
distinct bodies. One flight takes an eastern direction, and
spreads itself along the course of the river Adur; another
takes the upper part of the Arun, and pursues its course
toward the Wildbrook at Amberley ; the third and largest
flock take a western direction; and while some drop along
the lower line of the Arun, others proceed to the Manhood,.
or perhaps to Hayling Island. Although they start together,
they do not return in the same order, but singly, and at
different periods, according as they have been successful in
the pursuit of food, ”

312 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

In the ‘Sussex Archeological Collections’ (vol. xxvii.),
where a plate of the heronry at Windmill Hill Place, near
Hailsham, is given, it is mentioned (p. 115) that the Rooks
and Herons occasionally nest in the same tree; and Mr. H.
M. Curteis, in whose park it is situated, thus writes :—
“There has been a Heronry at this house for some con-
siderable time—probably dating with the century (but this
T am not certain about), but it seems that they and the Rooks
have continued, or migrated, together.

“The Herons were first in the Heron Wood, now cut down,
in Hurstmonceux Park. I do not know whether the Rooks
were at first there or not. The Herons and Rooks went,
after the Heron Wood was cut down, to the Toll, near the
Castle ; from thence, on the trees there dying and decaying,
they migrated to the sheep-walk, north of my house, a few
hundred yards from their old habitation (leaving still a few
nests near the turnpike road, from which they can still be
seen sitting on the trees). The curiosity concerning them
was their building so close to the house, and in the trees
almost overhanging. The nests are not visible in the
drawing, as the Herons never build on the front trees.”

Concerning the heronry at Brede, in the same paper in
the ‘Sussex Archeological Collections,’ by the Rev. F. H.
Arnold, he says :—A correspondent in ‘Science Gossip’
informs me that ‘it is one of the largest in England, situated
north of Fairlight, in a lonely wood, near Broad Oak, at
Udimore, near Rye, on the property of E. Frewen, Esq.’
The owner has kindly supplied me the following information:
“The heronry at Brede is situated in the north-east corner
of Great Sowden’s wood. About twenty years ago some four
hundred nests could be counted in it ; but at present there
are barely two hundred nests. I cannot in any way account
for the decrease in their numbers, as the greatest care is
taken to preserve them, and no timber or underwood in

COMMON HERON. 313

proximity to the heronry has been cut for many years, so as to
avoid disturbing them. ‘The trees in which they build are,
for the most part, large oak trees, underneath which nothing
grows but brambles. The wood is about eighty acres in
extent, and lies on the side of a hill facing the north. The
Rye and Finchall turnpike road runs along the top of the
wood, and by driving along the road the birds can be plainly
seen on their nests.”’—December, 1886.

_ Inreply to Mr. Jeffery, who wrote to the Honble. C. P.

F. Berkeley, in June 1890, he informed him that a few
Herons roost in the winter in Blackhouse copse, on the Old
Park estate, near Bosham, and that about a dozen years ago
there was a nest there with young birds, but so many people
came to look at them that they deserted the place. After
that, a heronry was established at Molecomb, near Good-
wood, where there is now a considerable colony. I am
informed that at Emsworth, Hants, where a small stream
divides it from Sussex, a Heron was shot from which was
taken a trout of two pounds weight. As lately as 1853, there
were a few nests in Folkington Wood, near the spot now
occupied by the Polegate Station of the L. B. & S.C. rail-
way. I remember also, when a boy, receiving a Heron’s
egg which was taken from a nest in Hough Wood, near
Henfield, which, I believe, was the only one built there.
This was in the highest tree in the wood.

The Heron was formerly esteemed a delicacy for the table.
In ‘ The Northumberland Household Book ’ we have: “Item.
It is thoughte in like wise that Heronsewes be boughte for
my Lordes owne Meas, so they be at XII" the pece.’”’ It
may not be generally known that the Heron, when it gets
into deep water, swims well, as I have myself seen in the
case of one which fell into a pond when wounded. Castings
of the Heron, of a substance resembling white semi-pellucid
jelly, may often be found about its haunts.

314 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

PURPLE HERON.
Ardea purpurea.

I can only find two instances of the occurrence of this bird
in Sussex. Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 226) writes :— An example
of this rare Heron was shot on the 28th of September, 1848,
at Worthing, by a gentleman of the name of Paul. It was
preserved by Mr. Andrews, of that town, and is now in the —
museum of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.” Of the
occurrence of the Purple Heron at Catsfield, Mr. Ellman, in
the ‘ Zoologist,’ p. 8330, writing in November 1851, makes
this statement :—“ An immature specimen of this bird was
shot at this place last month, and is now in the possession of
a gentleman at Hastings.” He bought it at the sale of Mr.
Ellman’s birds. Mr. Potter, formerly a bird-stuffer at Lewes,
writing to me in February 1890, says that this example was
brought to him in the flesh, by a person who stated that a
neighbour of his had shot it, and that he asked him to take it
to him, and ascertain what he would charge for stuffing it.
He did not like the price, and Mr. Potter continues, “As the
pendants of the crest were not perfect, 1 doubted whether
it was a mature bird, and offered 5s. for it, saying I would
send him another 5s. if I found it was mature, which I
did, to his address at Buxted, near which place he said it
was shot. I have forgotten the name and address.”

Its nearest breeding places are the marshes of France and
Holland. In Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 175) we find Mr.
Alfred Crowley, who visited the Naarden Meer, near Amster-
dam, describes the nests as placed about three feet
above the water, and made by fixing down twelve or thirteen
reeds to form a platform, on which some smaller pieces were
laid crosswise. In Ceylon, however, it is found breeding on

PURPLE HERON.—SQUACCO HERON. 315

trees, and forming flat, but rather bulky nests. At the same
page, the following description is given of the habits of the
bird :—“In its habits the Purple Heron is more like the
Bittern than the Heron last described, and it is shy, and to
a considerable extent crepuscular, and even nocturnal, in its
time of feeding. From the thinness of the long, snake-like
neck, the birds, even when numerous, are with difficulty
distinguished, when they are standing in a reed-margined
lake, nearly up to their belly in water, their bodies in the
shimmering sunlight exactly resembling tussocks of reed.
The flight is similar to that of the Common Heron, but the
note is more guttural. The food of this species consists
of small mammalia, reptiles, fish, and aquatic insects.”
Mr. Parkin (p. n.) gives the following account :—“ Mr. Monk,
of St. Anne’s, Lewes, has in his collection a Purple Heron,
which was shot by old Jack Fuller, of Brightling Park (a
well-known old sportsman), near Lewes, in 1822. A glass
case large enough for it could not then be procured for it in
England. The glass-blowers of Paris then doing larger work,
one was sent for from thence. The bird went into Mr.
Auckland’s collection, at the dispersion of which it was pur-
chased by Mr. Monk. It was badly stuffed, the neck having
been cut in three pieces. It was re-stuffed by Mr. Swaysland,
of Brighton.”

SQUACCO HERON.

Ardea ralloides.

Tus little Heron occurs irregularly on migration, but does
not breed in the British Isles. It is an inhabitant of Southern
Europe and Africa. The Rev. H. B. Tristram, writing on the
“ Ornithology of Algeria,” in ‘The Ibis,’ 1860, p. 163, states

316 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

that, at Halloula, he found a large colony of Squacco Herons,
who were just beginning to sit. Thirty or forty nests were
scattered about in various directions in a dense bed of reeds
piled up to the height of two or three feet from the mud,
supported on tufts of reeds, and composed of great heaps of
water-weeds and rushes; each nest contained three or four
eggs. Naumann says that he has found very small fish,
frogs, small shells, and water-insects in the stomach. He also
remarks the partiality of this bird for the company of pigs;
it is probable that it is in the habit of feeding after these
animals as they turn up the ground with their noses, in the
same way that Rooks follow the plough.

Sometime in the summer of 1828, an example of this
species was shot by one Thomas Marchant, whom I had often
heard speak of it, at Wick Pond, in the parish of Albourne,
but it was not till January 1849 that I saw the specimen
myself, in the possession of the late Mr. Holman, of Hurst-
pierpoint, whose brother was tenant of Wick Farm when the
bird was shot. At his death it was sold to a tradesman in
Brighton, and is now in the possession of a gentleman there,
who has kindly allowed me to see it, and I have had it photo-
graphed. This specimen is in perfectly mature plumage.

A second Sussex specimen is mentioned by Mr. Knox
(O. R. p. 227) under the name of Little Egret; he states
that it was then in the possession of Sir Percy Shelley. I,
knowing that Lady Shelley was living near Bournemouth,
requested my friend the Rev. F. Hopkins, residing in that
neighbourhood, to find out whether Lady Shelley still had it,
and he kindly ascertained that Sir Percy had given it to the
Honble. Grantley Berkeley, and that it had passed from him
to Mr. Hart, the well-known naturalist, of Christchurch,
Hants, who still has it in his museum. Mr. Hart informs
me that on receiving the bird he wrote to the late Sir Percy
Shelley, and sends me this extract from his reply :— I gave

PS aieageg i
SI. Ielnaeta J Deda)

ars

3.G Keulernans del. et lith Mirtern Bros. Chrome

THE SQUACCO HERON.

Ardea ralloides.

SQUACCO HERON.—NIGHT HERON. 317

Mr. Berkeley a stuffed bird; it was a Squacco Heron, and
was shot by my keeper by the Warnham Pond, about two
miles from Horsham, on the hottest day of the very hot
summer of 1849. In its stomach were fourteen small roach,
without their heads, however.” A pretty good meal for so
small a bird! Why they were minus their heads I cannot
tell, as Herons in general swallow their prey whole.

NIGHT HERON.

Nycticorax griseus.

Lixe the last, this is a decidedly rare bird with us. I have
the following in my own notes:—November 1839, a specimen
of the Night Heron was shot at Alfriston. I examined it
myself and found it immature. The bird is noticed by
Mr. Knox, on my authority (O. R. p. 238), who further
says, that “since that period another example has occurred
near Cuckmere Haven. A male Night Heron was killed
near Appledram Sluice, by Sergeant Carter, on Septem-
ber 6th, 1851, and is now in the collection of the Bishop of
Oxford, at Lavington.” This Heron feeds by night on
worms, fish, frogs, freshwater insects, and mollusks, and
conceals itself in trees during the day; it breeds in colonies.
Mr. Dresser (‘ Birds of Europe,’ vol. vi. pp. 266, 267) writes
that the flight of the Night Heron is silent and soft, like
that of an Owl, the bird drawing in its neck, so that it looks
quite short, and carrying its legs stretched out straight
behind; that its call-note is seldom uttered in the day-
time, but at night it is rather noisy than otherwise; and
that it climbs about the small branches of trees, and among
the close reeds and rushes, with facility; also that its nest
is occasionally placed on low bushes, though generally in a
tree, rather flat in shape, built of twigs and thin branches,

318 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

LITTLE BITTERN.

Ardetta minuta.

Tue Little Bittern, though it has occurred at various times,
must be considered a rare bird. It is of skulking habits,
and is with difficulty aroused from the thick beds of reeds
and sedge in which it conceals itself during the day. It
feeds on fish, frogs, and small freshwater mollusks. By
some, the note of the male is described as resembling the
sound uttered by a paviour when he delivers a blow with his
rammer: by others, to the syllable “ pumm” several times
repeated. The female has a cry very like “get, get.’ The
nest is described in Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 204) as a solid
structure of flags, leaves, and bits of grass; attached to
upright growing reeds, very little above the water; and
sometimes, according to Gloger, a deserted Magpie’s nest,
in some low bush near a swamp, is utilized. Mr. Knox
{O. R. p. 227) states that an adult male was presented to
him by Mr. Austen, the Rector of Pulborough, which had
been shot as it rose from a weedy pond in his garden, in
May 1842; he mentions another male shot at Oving, in
the summer of 1852, which passed into the possession of -
Dr. Tyacke, of Chichester ; and that a third specimen was
killed in a water meadow, on the western border of Sussex.
Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) says that he shot an immature male or a
young female at Southbrook, between Ratham and Ashling,
in August 1862, and mentions another, adult, killed at
Runcton in April 1869, and a third, female or immature, at
Nutbourne on October lst, 1873.

Mr. Thomas Parkin, of Halton, near Hastings (p. n.),
states that on October 81st, 1889, a Little Bittern was
taken on the Parade at Eastbourne.

LITTLE BITTERN.—COMMON BITTERN. 319

In the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 2147) is the following :—“ Occur-
rence of the Little Bittern at Ewhurst and Sedlescombe :
I have seen a male and female of Ardea minuta, which were
shot at the above places. The female about three months
ago; the male at the latter place, I believe about fifteen
months since.—J. B. Ellman, April 20th, 1848.”

COMMON BITTERN.
Botaurus stellaris.

ALMost every severe winter brings us a few cf this species.
It inhabits bogs which are thickly covered with reeds,
among which it sits concealed during the day, wandering
abroad at night. It used formerly to breed in a large tract
of boggy marsh at Amberley, known as the Wildbrook, now
drained, It feeds on much the same substances as the
Common Heron, and, like it, has a penchant for water-rats,
which I have more than once found in its interior, as I have
also the common Ditiscus marginatus, and eels. Among
fish, it seems to prefer the fry of pike. In my own notes, I
find that a Bittern was brought to me alive on January 11th,
1841, which had been caught near Cowfold. It was quite
passive and did not attempt to defend itself; nothing could
induce it to stand up or use its legs in any way, and in about
half an hour after I received it, it expired. I could find no
sort of injury, and on dissection it proved to be a female.
In the stomach were several grains of wheat, probably swal-
lowed with some small bird, which had been digested, and
a very hard pellet, chiefly consisting of the fur of the water-
shrew. No bones being broken, it furnished me with an
excellent skeleton.

320 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

On January 11th, 1842, a Bittern was shot near Henfield,
and on January 6th, 1849, I received another, shot at
Lancing, which was a male, and I found in it two short-tailed
field-voles, and nothing else. In November, 1850, a farm
labourer brought me a female Bittern alive, which was
standing beside the wharf at West Grinstead. It seemed very
weak, and could not or would not fly, but was very fierce
on being approached, ruffling out its feathers, especially
those of the head and neck, in the form of a shield, and
darting up directly in the face of the man who captured it.
When quiet, it stood with the whole of the tarsus on the
ground, the neck shrunk between the shoulders, the bill
pointing straight upward, looking exactly like a tuft of dead
sedge. I put it on a little island in a pond surrounded by a
wire fence, and retired a short distance, when after remaining
a few minutes stationary, where I had set it down, as if in
contemplation, with the head lowered nearly to the ground
and the neck stretched out, it deliberately walked to the
water, which was about three feet deep, and swam slowly to
the bank, where it remained quiet, in the position first
mentioned. I then caught it, and cut its wing. In swim-
ming, the head was stretched out a little, the lower mandible
being just above the surface of the water. It swam very
high, and the under feathers were very little wetted. I put
it into the pond again, and it swam with great ease and
deliberation some eight or ten yards, as if quite accustomed
tothe water. The next morning it had escaped, and I never
saw it again.

The usual flight of the Bittern is slow and heavy, perfectly
noiseless, and in the daytime seldom sustained to any great
distance. I had once, though not in Sussex, a good oppor-
tunity of observing this, as I one morning flushed no less
than eight, in a very boggy and sedgy fen. They were all
perfectly mute, though it has been said that, when flushed,

COMMON BITTERN.—AMERICAN BITTERN. 321

it utters a harsh cry. In the breeding-season, its note has a
loud booming or bellowing sound, whence its name of
botaurus. The nest is on the ground, and is built of reeds
and flags, in the most impenetrable part of a fen. Of its
merits for the table opinions vary ; I have sometimes tasted
it, and consider its flavour very like that of a hare.

Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) mentions a Bittern killed at Fish-
bourne, in January 1860, containing a flat fish and a hard
pellet of the fur of the water-rat and shrew, felted together.
Another was shot at Binstead, in January 1869; one at
Vinnetrow, in February 1880; and another at Ashling, in
January of the following year; also a fifth at Vinnetrow, in
January 1887. Mr. Knox says he has seen it flushed from
the reed-beds at the upper pond in Burton Park.

In the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 1178, s.s.) we find that a fine adult
male Bittern was shot at Steyning, in February 1868.

AMERICAN BITTERN.
Botaurus lentiginosus.

Tus exceedingly rare visitor has, I believe, only occurred
twice in Sussex. It is a shy and solitary bird. When
flushed among the reeds, it rises with a spring, and at that
time utters a loud croaking, in a manner expressive of
disgust at being disturbed, and flies off as fast as it can with
dangling legs and outstretched neck ; but when settled on
its course it proceeds more smoothly, with head drawn in
and legs stretched out behind. If winged, it defends itself
stoutly. Its food consists of various small animals, mol-
lusks, crayfish, frogs, lizards, small snakes, and fish. Its
call is described by Audubon as a hoarse croaking, as if the

throat were filled with water. In the breeding-season the
x

322 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

male has another peculiar note, which almost exactly re-
sembles the stroke of a mallet on astake when driven into the
ground. It utters also a peculiar call-note, a rough guttural
explosive syllable, resembling “ hauk” or “quauk” ; ordi-
narily, however, it is a silent bird. The nest is placed on a
tuft of grass, or under a bush in a swampy locality (vide
Mr, Dresser’s ‘ Birds of Europe,’ vol. vi. pp. 291-293).

A specimen is recorded by Mr. Dutton, in the ‘ Zoologist ’
(p. 1098, s. s.), as having been shot by Mr. Vidler in Peven-
sey Marsh, on November 26th, 1867, which passed into the
collection of Sir John Crewe. The second Sussex specimen
was obtained on November 30th, 1879, from a patch of
reeds in Amberley Wildbrook, by a person of the name of
Knight, who sent it to Mr. Ellis, a naturalist of Arundel, by
whom it was sold to Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, and it is now
in my collection. This Bittern is said to be a good bird for
the table. .

CICONIIDZ.

WHITE STORK.
Ciconia alba.

Tuts Stork has rarely appeared in the county ; in fact, it was
never more than an occasional straggler to any part of the
British Isles. It devours fish, frogs, young water-fowl, rats,
mice, moles, also earthworms and large spiders, and appears
to confine itself to animal food. The nest is very large,
often on buildings in the middle of a town, consisting of
perhaps a cartload of sticks, lined with straw, grass, &c. ;
a new nest being rather flat, but fresh materials are occa-
sionally added to it, till it becomes of a great height. Such

WHITE STORK 323

a one I saw in a high tree near Amsterdam. While feeding
in the meadows, it walks with a grave aspect and stately gait.
Its flight is powerful, with the legs carried nearly straight
out behind it, and the feet close together; both the legs and
the head are rather lowered, as if the feet at one end and
the head at the other were too heavy to be carried quite
horizontally, thus forming a segment of a circle.

When the Stork alights on the ground, it stretches its
legs widely apart, which gives it a strange and ungainly
appearance. While feeding, it utters an inward gurgling
note as if expressing satisfaction. I am not aware that it
has any other vocal sound, but it makes a great clattering
with its bill, throwing it on the back of the neck, almost
between the shoulders, at other times pressing it to the
breast while making this sound.

In my own notes I have the following :—A bird, positively
asserted to be a Stork, was observed on the 15th of Septem-
ber, 1841, standing on a building at Blackrock, Brighton,
which, on being approached to within about thirty yards,
flew out to sea and was lost sight of. In October 1859
another was shot at Selsey. As I knew that two Storks
had been killed near Brighton, I wrote to Messrs. Brazenor,
of the Lewes Road, who preserved them, and received the
following reply from his son:—‘‘The two Storks you ask
about were bought by my father, and are now in the Brighton
Museum. They were killed on the Race Hill by the late
Mr. Richardson at one shot, on September 6th, 1873. They
were in a very exhausted state, and allowed a very near
approach. ‘There is no doubt they were genuine wild birds,
for although a notice of their being killed was published in
many papers, we never heard of any having escaped from
confinement.”

Mr, Ellman, writing to me in March 1852, mentions a
White Stork which was shot about three years before in

¥2

324 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

Romney Marsh, in October 1849, on the Sussex side of the
Kent ditch, and passed into the possession of Mr. Lordine
of Ewhurst, Sussex.

Mr. Booth, in his ‘ Rough Notes,’ says that early in the
spring of 1875 he received notice from a “ Looker” (a Sussex
term, signifying a person employed in the marshes to look
after the cattle) that a strange white bird had been seen
about the “ Pells” in Pevensey Level ; that he sent a servant
acquainted with the Stork to find out what it was; and that,
in crossing the marshes, he saw and clearly identified it, as it
was flying towards the Channel, and it was not seen or heard
of again.

In the ‘ Zoologist ’ for 1884 (p. 489) is the following :—
“ White Stork at Pevensey. Mr. Vidler, of Pevensey, near
Hastings, has kindly sent me a specimen of the White Stork,
killed during the latter part of August last. Mr. Vidler
writes that there were two Storks, and that they remained
about the shore for several days, but seemed very shy. At
last one was shot by a coastguard. The other flew away
inland, but was seen no more.—T. H. Nelson (Redcar).”

IBIDIDZ.
GLOSSY IBIS.
Plegadis falcinellus.

Turs extremely rare straggler has occurred in a few instances,
and does not breed in Britain, though in South-eastern
Europe it is by no means uncommon, nesting in the
marshes. In Mr. Dresser’s ‘Birds of Europe’ (vol. vi.
p- 340) it is observed that on large morasses in places
difficult of access, the nest, which is carelessly constructed

GLOSSY IBIS. 325

of dried flags and leaves of aquatic plants is placed on the
bent-down large water-plants on partially dry places in the
marshes. The food of this species consists of small reptiles,
the fry of fishes, small crustacea, aquatic insects, worms &c.,
which it finds on the banks of rivers, the shores of lakes, and
muddy flats which are occasionally flooded ; it feeds also on
beetles and scorpions, and is especially fond of locusts. In its
flight, the pinions are beaten rapidly, producing a whizzing
sound, after which the bird skims for some distance (see
Yarrell’s B. B. vol. iv. p. 235).

In my own notes I find the following:—On May 25th,
1850, a male Ibis, in full mature plumage, was shot at
Piddinghoe, near Newhaven, by a labourer, and was sold to
a Mr. Baker, who sent it to the late Mr. Unwin, naturalist,
of Lewes. Mr. Potter, writing to me, states that Mr. Unwin
sent it to him to set up, and that he purchased it for
Mr. Ellman, from whom I bought it, and it is now in my
collection.

Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 228) has, “A specimen of this rare
straggler is in the possession of Mr. Duke, of Lavant, near
Chichester, which was shot by Mr. Duke, Jun., of Earnley,
on the marshes in that neighbourhood in November 1853.”

Mr. Jeffery records (‘ Zoologist’ p. 109, s. s.) :—“ On the
Ist of November, 1876, Mr. Willett, of Brighton, informed me
that a Glossy Ibis had been shot near Arundel, about a
month previously, and that it had come into his possession.”
Mr. Ellis, naturalist, of Arundel, who preserved the bird,
told me it was shot in a water-meadow, between Arundel

and Ford.

326 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

PLATALEIDA.

WHITE SPOONBILL.
Platalea leucorodia.

THz appearance of the Spoonbill in Sussex is merely as a
somewhat rare straggler, but that it formerly bred in the
county is shown by Mr. J. E. Harting, who quotes the
following somewhat quaint extract from a MS. Survey of
certain Manors in Sussex :— «MM? that within half
a furlonge of Halnaker parke pale, on the west side thereof,
lyeth a parke called Goodwoode Parke; and by the northest
parte thereof lyeth one other parke called Shelhurste Parke,
distaunt from Halnaker pale one quarter of a myle. And
on the north side of that pale lyeth one other parke called
Estden, halfe a myle dystante. In the woods called the
Weestwood and the Haselette Shovelers and Herons have
lately breed, and some Shovelers breed there this yeere’ + * *
“ That the species referred to in this Survey is the Spoonbill
(Platalea leucorodia) and not the Shoveller Duck (Anas
clypeata) seems clear for several reasons. In the first place,
*Shoveller,’ ‘Shoveler,’ ‘Shovelard, and ‘ Sholarde’ are so
many forms of spelling the old name for that species, as
clearly identified by Sir Thomas Browne. In the second
place, the birds in question were nesting ‘in a wood,’ where
the Shoveller Duck would not be found at any season. And,
further, they were breeding in company with Herons, a habit
not uncommon with the Spoonbill, as formerly observed in
Norfolk, and elsewhere” (‘ Zoologist,’ pp. 426-428, s.s.).
The nearest breeding place to the British Isles is now
Horster Meer, between Amsterdam and Utrecht, which my

WHITE SPOONBILL. 827

daughter and I visited in June 1883, when we found about
two hundred birds, but owing to the “meer” having been
drained, the part of it on which these birds nested was left
an island, and the last boat having been removed a few days
before our visit, the place was inaccessible. The birds
indeed flew around us, and I was much surprised that,
though they were very close to us, we did not hear them
utter a sound of anykind. As to seeing the nests, it was out
of the question, but, on our way home, we had a basin full of
eggs brought to us which had been taken on the island a few
days before. Mr. A.Crowley, writing of a visit to this “meer”
in May 1884, thus describes the nests:—They were placed
on the mud among the reeds, just about a foot or eighteen
inches high, and two feet in diameter at the bottom, tapering
to about one foot at the top, where there was a slight
depression, in which lay four eggs, or four young birds. In
the young there was a great difference in age and size, one
being a day or so old, and the most advanced nearly ready
to leave the nest (vide Yarrell’s B. B. vol. iv. p. 240). The
Spoonbill feeds on fishes and crustaceans, &. I had an
excellent opportunity, at the Zoological Gardens at Amster-
dam, of observing the action of this bird while feeding,
moving its whole body, with the head, from side to side,
with the bill to half its length immersed in water ; it appeared
to pass the water through it and to sift out any solid por-
tions it might meet with. There were several together, and
they seemed very amicable.

I will now mention its appearances in Sussex, and
first, from my own notes. A Spoonbill was shot at
Cuckmere Haven on October 15th, 1847. Mr. Ellman
informed me that three Spoonbills out of a flock of six
were shot near Hailsham, on the 8rd of October,
1850. On September 5th, 1856, one, an immature bird,
the bill being only 43 inches long from the forehead, was

328 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

shot on the Adur, near Old Shoreham Bridge. Mr. Knox
(O. R. p. 228) states that it had been shot at Rye and at
Pagham Harhour, that the Chichester Museum contains one
shot in that neighbourhood, and that a specimen is in his
own collection, which was shot near Seaford, in the autunm
of 1844; and Mr. Jeffery saw one at Chichester, which had
been shot in 1887, an immature bird.

ANSERES.

ANATIDE.
GREY-LAG GOOSE.

Anser cinereus.

Tus is the only one of its genus which is resident in the
British Isles, and is supposed to be the origin of the common
domestic Goose. It formerly bred in the Cambridge, Lin-
colnshire, and Norfolk fens, and up to about a hundred years
ago a few continued to do so, particularly about Waterbeach
and Wicken. Its building places are now confined to a few
spots on the mainland, and on some islands in the lakes of
Scotland. The nest is a clumsy structure of dry herbage,
reeds, and, externally, a few sticks, placed on the ground.
It feeds chiefly at night, on tender grass and young growing
corn, as well as on grain, frequenting thé inland morasses, and
occasionally the sea. This Goose is a rare visitor to Sussex,
though in severe winters a considerable flock has occasionally
been met with in the Channel, a mile or so off the coast. The
only individual which ever came into my hands in the flesh
was an immature specimen sent me by a lady for identifi-

GREY-LAG GOOSE.—WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 3829

cation, which had been shot in the “ Brooks” (as they call
the level of the Adur near Henfield), on the 29th of Novem-
ber, 1890. It was found alone, and had been observed some
days. Of this Goose Mr. Knox says (O. R. p. 242) :—“ One
of our rarest Anatide. Has been occasionally shot during
very severe winters. I obtained two at Pagham, in 1839.”

Mr. Booth, in ‘ Rough Notes,’ makes the following observa-
tion :—“ Large flocks pass along at sea a short distance off
the Sussex coast, though few, unless in exceedingly severe
weather, penetrate into the marshes. During the winters
from 1858 to 1869 I frequently shot over Pevensey Level,
but not more than three or four individuals of this species
were obtained. Young birds occasionally reach the south of
England as early as October; in 1882 one was shot in
Shoreham Harbour during the second week in the month.”
The call-note of the Grey-lag Goose is similar to that of
the domestic bird.

In the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 2773), Mr. Ellman mentions that
in February 1850, which was of unusual severity, flocks of
wild fowl were very large, and that several Grey-lag Geese
were killed in the Sussex marshes.

WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE.

Anser albifrons.

Generatty known as the Laughing Goose, from its note ; it
is by no means uncommon on the coast, large flocks passing
in the Channel, about two miles from the land, during severe
weather, in the day-time ; and this and the Brent are the most
abundant of the genus. They come inland at night, and feed
on clover, grass, or any green crop they can find, especially

330 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

turnips and rape. It makes a large nest near fresh water, at
a distance from the coast, and is in considerable esteem for
the table. One was shot in the parish of Twineham, Decem-
ber 30th, 1853. In February 1854 large flights of this
Goose passed along the coast. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) mentions
two shot at Sidlesham in the severe weather of January
1881. The White-fronted Goose is mentioned by Mr. Ellman
among the number shot on the coast in February 1850.

Mr. Booth says that it visits the marshes and sandy flats
along the shore, as well as the mud-flats and the salt water
mud-banks. Formerly, several hundred might be seen
together on the marshes of Pevensey Level, but of late years
they have not been so numerous there. In the ‘ Zoologist ’
(p. 9100), Mr. Dutton has recorded one shot at Pevensey by
Mr. Vidler. Mr. Proctor says it breeds in Iceland, whence
he has received the eggs. .

BEAN GOOSE.
Anser segetum.

THis species arrives on the coast in large flocks, in almost
every hard winter, and is much more abundant than the
Grey-lag. It has never been proved to breed in Britain. It
feeds chiefly by night, and, like the last, comes inland to the
stubbles and grassy flats ; it is in some districts exceedingly
destructive to the young corn.

When feeding, it is very difficult to approach, and besides
being very vigilant individually, there is always a sentinel.
At times a flock will pass the night in some open field which
they have frequented in the day-time, but usually they
will retire to the mud-banks of the estuaries, where they rest
more secure from disturbance. Among the immense flocks

BEAN GOOSE.—PINK-FOOTED GOOSE, 331

which pass over in stormy weather, the Bean Goose is
probably strongly represented, but it is only a well-accus-
tomed eye that can distinguish of which species the flocks
consist. When flying, they generally range themselves in
lines, and the noise they make somewhat resembles that of a
pack of foxhounds in full cry, and may be heard at a long
distance. They breed in Lapland as soon as the ice is
broken up.

Mr. Knox only says this bird is not unusual in hard
weather. Mr. Wolley, writing from Lapland, says that it
goes to the most retired districts to breed, and spends the
summer in marshes and moors towards the mountains, where
men are very scarce (Hewitson, vol. ii. p. 385, ed. 3).

PINK-FOOTED GOOSE.

Anser brachyrhynchus.

Tuts species is either a very rare bird, or it has not yet been
sufficiently distinguished from its congeners ; in fact, it was
not discovered to be a distinct species till 1883. I have not
myself met with it in Sussex.

Mr. Dresser, in ‘ Birds of Europe,’ vol. vi. p. 374, thus
speaks of it :—“ In its habits, the Pink-footed Goose is said
to differ hut little from the Grey-lag Goose, which, indeed, it
more resembles in plumage than does the Bean Goose. Of
its breeding habits, comparatively little is known. It is said
to breed in Spitzbergen. Professor Malmgren, who obtained
its eggs in the latter island, says that it is extremely shy and
wary. In the early summer, it is to be seen in small flocks
on moss-covered lowlands near the sea, where there is vege-
tation here and there, but in the ordinary breeding season it
is seen in pairs. When moulting, it frequents freshwater

382 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

swamps, and here, when collected in flocks, it is to be met
with near the coast. The nest is placed in prominent situa-
tions on high rocks, or platforms, or on steep cliffs, often
close to a river, or in some grass-covered place. . . . It is
extremely watchful.”

The Pink-footed Goose is included among the numerous
Geese killed out of the flocks of wild fowl shot in the marshes,
recorded by Mr, Ellman in February 1850 (‘ Zoologist,
p. 2773). An adult female of this species was shot at New-
haven, on the 8rd of January, 1891, and was shown me
by Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, to whom it was brought for
preservation.

Professor Newton, in his paper on the Birds of Spitz-
bergen (‘Ibis’ for 1865 p. 514), mentions that the Pink-
footed Goose has been met with in Wide Bay, lat. 79° 35'N.,
and that it probably occurs all along the west coast, where
Ludwig found a hatched-out nest, about midnight,in July
1864. Dr. Malmgren seems to have met with at least two
nests, in the upper part of Ice Sound, from both of which he
shot the female, and another nest was obtained at Mittle-
hook, in the same Sound.

BERNICLE GOOSE.

Bernicla leucopsis.

Tnis Goose has occurred many times on the Sussex coast, at
irregular periods, but cannot be considered common, being,
in fact, a mere straggler. Of its breeding-place and habits
at that season, in its wild state, or of its egg *, little is known;
but there appears to be a probability that it breeds in Spitz-

* Inconfinement it breeds freely, and the egg is only known from
specimens laid in that condition.

BERNICLE GOOSE.—BRENT GOOSE. 333

bergen. It is more common on the west coast of England
than in the-south or east. Its food is said in Yarrell’s B. B.
(vol. iv. p. 289) to be grass, and the bents which grow on the
sandhills. It is mentioned that Mr. Adams says that his
captive birds, which refused worms at other times, would eat
them in March, and in winter they were partial to “ London
Pride” in the garden, cropping it close to the ground. Mr.
Knox (O. R. p. 242) mentions that he procured a few
specimens in December, 1838, and the following month, in
Pagham Harbour, and that it has occurred at Shoreham, and
at Rye.

Mr. Dennis wrote me word that one was shot, out of three,
in the Clinton Brooks, near Seaford, on February 5th, 1854.
Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey, in the ‘ Wild Fowler in Ireland ’
(p. 162), says that “ Bernicle seldom, if ever, fly far inland
at high water, or to seek food, but usually remain within
sight of the tide. They are almost as sea-frequenting a
race as the Brent.” In the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 9100), Mr. Dutton
mentions that Mr. Vidler shot one at Pevensey. A female
was brought to Mr. Pratt for preservation, which was obtained
at Shoreham, on the 7th of January, 1891. This bird was
alone.

BRENT GOOSE.
Bernicla brenta.

Tue Brent Goose, generally known as the Black Goose, is
the most abundant of all the race that visit the Sussex coast,
flights continually passing by, and in severe weather great
numbers come in for shelter on the marshes, but single birds
are occasionally met with inland. In my own notes, I have,

834 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

however, a few instances. On November 20th, 1842, one
was shot on Henfield Level ; and another, on February 19th,
1843, nearly at the same spot. It frequents the estuaries and
mud flats, where it feeds on the sea-weed, Ulva latisperma,
known as the “ laver,’”’ and on roots of the Zostera marina.
It is said also to feed on crustaceans. I have, myself,
often watched flights of two or three hundred, off Brighton
and Shoreham, when the weather was tolerably mild, winging
their way along the coast-line, flying almost always to the
eastward.

Mr. Booth states that he once found a couple of hundred
apparently sleeping on the waves, thoroughly worn out after
a heavy gale; they allowed him to approach within some
twenty yards before noticing the boat, even then rising so
slowly that the party had time to discharge each of the
barrels of four guns, securing six of the birds. This Goose
is esteemed one of the best for the table. Its ery is an
oft-repeated utterance of the syllables, “honk,” or “konk.”
In ‘The Ibis’ for 1865 (p. 512), we find that in Parry’s
expedition a nest and two eggs were brought on board
from Ross Islet, lat. 80° 48’ N. Dr. Malmgren found it
breeding in Treurenberg Bay, and Messrs. Evans and Sturge
on the South Cape Islands.

WHOOPER, ELK, on WHISTLING SWAN.

Cygnus musicus.

Tus Swan is to be met with in almost every hard winter,
occasionally in flocks. It feeds principally on vegetable
matters, insects, and mollusks. Its flight is generally low,
and though it appears to be performed in a leisurely and

WHOOPER, OR WHISTLING SWAN. 835

easy manner, it is, in fact, of considerable swiftness. Its
note, whence it is named, is a loud “ whoop!’’ frequently
repeated.

Mr. Marshall, then of Bolney, shot an immature specimen
as it was flying rather low over his head ; it was many years
back, but I cannot give the date, and it was preserved for
him,

In my own notes I find that many flights of Swans were
passing over Newhaven and East Blatchington, at the end of
December, 1854; and about the same time a small party of
five, and two or three larger flocks, were seen flying over
Henfield. Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 243) observes, that in January
1839 he saw several flocks at Pagham, and procured many
specimens. Mr. Jeffery also states that three Swans were
seen in Chichester and Bosham Harbours, in February
1865, and that one was shot out of seven, on January
28rd, 1867, and another near Havant. In February 1879
two were shot at Pagham; in March of the same year
several were seen, and one killed, near Chichester; and on
December 29th, 1879, an immature specimen was obtained
at Bosham.

This Swan swims with its neck much more erect than
the Mute Swan, and, as it never dives, always feeds in the
shallows ; when it has been feeding long in salt water, the
neck is often tinged with yellow.

In the ‘Zoologist’ (p. 7387), one is- recorded as having
been shot at Poynings Springs, by Mr. Thorncroft, of
Brighton, on January 21st, 1861. This is said to have been
preserved, and to be in the possession of Mr. Botting of
Newhouse. J have the head and neck of a specimen killed
at the same spot, but cannot give the date.

I am indebted to Mr. Harting for the following copy of
an original letter in his possession, addressed by the Hon.
and Rev. W. Herbert to Edward Turner Bennett (names

336 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

which will be familiar to readers of White’s ‘ Selborne,’
edited by Bennett), and dated 12th December, 1835 :—* A
few months ago, that is to say, at the commencement of
August 1835, I observed, day after day, a Swan, which was
a male of the kind called Wild Swan, or Whooper, standing
ov. the upland turf, which, from long continuance of dry
weather, was as brown as a beaten road, by the side of a little
paled enclosure adjoining the entrance lodge in Petworth
Park. Having enquired from the man inhabiting the lodge,
who had the superintendence of the water-fowl on the large
piece of water in the park, why that Swan was to be seen
constantly in a situation so uncongenial to the habits of his
race, he informed me that in the spring of 1834 it had had a
mate, with a brood of young Swans, in a hovel within the
little paled enclosure, where she and the young ones had
died ; and that ever since, the male Swan had persevered in
haunting the spot, and forcing his way there*whenever he
could find an opportunity, as if in search of them ; but that
at night he retired to the water in the park. Such an
instance of conjugal constancy in a bird deserves to be
recorded.”

Mr. G. C. Atkinson, of Newcastle, met with a nest of this
species during his visit to Iceland. It was placed in the
centre of a small island, not more than fifteen or twenty
yards in diameter, and just rising above the freshwater lake
by which it was surrounded. The nest was made of water-
plants, and raised about six inches above the sward on which
it was placed; it was about eighteen inches in diameter,
lined with materials similar to those used in its outward
structure, and contained three eggs in the last stage. of
incubation. Mr. Proctor says that this species lines its nest
with down, with which the eggs are also covered. Mr. Wolley
met with the nest in Lapland (see Hewitson, vol. ii. p. 393,

ed, 3).

BEWICK’S SWAN. 337

BEWICK’S SWAN.
Cygnus bewicki.

Tuts Swan was first distinguished from the Whooper by the
late Mr. Yarrell and Mr. Wingate, who observed about the
same time that there was a great difference in the form of
the trachea ; and the latter, being a great friend of Thomas
Bewick, adopted the name Bewicki, which Mr. Yarrell had
proposed for it. It is much smaller and somewhat rarer
than the Whooper, which, in its general habits, it much
resembles, and, like it, only appears on our coast in severe
winters.

Mr. Dennis informs me by letter that a Bewick’s Swan
was shot at Cuckmere Ferry, near Seaford. It had been
previously wounded in the wing, close to the body, and came
in from the sea, alone ; its gizzard contained fine gravel, and
a blackish substance of which he could not ascertain the
nature. Mr. Pratt informs me that a Bewick’s Swan was
shot at Shoreham, and sent to him for preservation, in
October 1861. Mr. Booth, in his ‘ Rough Notes,’ states
that he shot one of this species near Rye, in the winter of
1860; and in January 1871 fired at one close over his head ;
but, having only a charge of No. 10 shot in his gun, it passed
on apparently uninjured. Mr. Jeffery, in his p. n., states
that one was shot near Brighton in December 1879, and
preserved for the Chichester Museum. The nest was
unknown till discovered by Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie-
Brown in the Lower Petchora, in 1875 (see ‘Ibis,’ 1876,
pp. 438-441).

338 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

MUTE SWAN.
Cygnus olor.

AttHoucn the Mute Swan can scarcely be called a truly
British bird, yet it has so long been generally diffused
throughout the country that it can hardly be right to
omit all mention of it, especially as it has been admitted
by all writers on British Ornithology. It appears to have
been first introduced into Britain from Cyprus, by Richard I.,
who began his reign in 1189, and, since that period, has
gradually spread over Europe, and as it breeds in a wild
state in Denmark and South Sweden, there is nothing very
remarkable in the supposition that it may occasionally
visit England at the time of migration. ' ‘ When first intro-
duced, Swans were held to be royal property, no subject
being allowed to possess any private rights in them, when
at large on any creek or river, except by grant from the
Crown of a private mark, which, inthe time of Edward IV.
(1483) , Was, except the King’s sons, only to be granted to
persons possessed of a freehold of the yearly value of five
marks, and in some cases the Crown allowed the seizure of
all White Swans, in certain districts, not having the mark.
About the year 1600, a payment of 6s. 8d. was levied on the
Bishops of Chichester, then residing at Amberley Castle,
on the Arun, on their first coming to the Bishoprick,
with regard to their Swans on that river. These Bishop’s
birds were ‘butted on the lefte winge, and had three
notches on the right side of the beake.’? The Swans of the
Earls of Arundell are butted on the right wing, and their
heels both cut off. Sir William Goring had a variety of
marks. One of the marks of Walter Barttelott, Esq., was,

MUTE SWAN. 339

‘butted on the left winge, a notch on the right side of the
beake near the eye, and a slit on the outer blade of the right
foot, and a tongue on the inner blade of the same foot.’, Sir
John Shelley, of Michelgrove, and Sir Edward Bishop, had
their notches and slits. The Autocrat of the High Stream
received the customary 6s. 8d. of the latter for a new Swan-
mark, and seized Swans to the Earls of Arundell’s use, for
non-payment of the fee for the continuance of the mark.”
(Antig. of Arundel, 1766. See Sussex Archzol. Coll.
vol. xvii.) The public-house sign of “ The Swan with Two
Necks” is said to be derived from the two nicks used as the
Swan-mark of the Vintners’ Company.

The nest of this Swan is a very large structure, of weeds,
grass, &c., measuring some four or five feet across, and two
or three high, placed near the water, and on the approach of a
flood it is generally raised higher, both the birds being assi-
duously engaged in the work. This Swan is generally rather
silent, but when angry it hisses like the Common Goose, and
in pairing time utters a few not unmusical notes. It feeds
on aquatic plants, mollusks, water-insects, frogs, &c., and in
the breeding season is exceedingly pugnacious. The only
Swannery in the Kingdom is situated at the western extremity
of an estuary called the Fleet, opposite Abbotsbury, in Dor-
setshire, the property of the Earl of Ichester. This is about
nine miles long, and from a quarter to half a mile broad.
There are records of this Swannery long previous to the
Reformation, when it was the property of the neighbouring
monastery, at the dissolution of which, Henry VIII. granted
it to Giles Strangway, an ancestor of the present owner.
In 1880 the number of Swans was over one thousand four
hundred; but in the winter of that year the Fleet was frozen
throughout, during an exceedingly low spring-tide, when the
water-plants growing at the bottom, becoming entangled in
the ice, were torn up by their roots at the returning tide,
and many of the Swans either migrated or died, reducing

Z2

340 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

the numbers to about eight hundred, which average is now
maintained. See Mr. Mansel-Pleydell’s ‘ Birds of Dorset-
shire,’ where many further interesting particulars of this
Swannery are given.

So much has been written of this bird in poetry and in
prose, and so numerous are the myths, both classical and
legendary, of which it is the subject, that to refer to them
would far exceed the limits of this little work, neither do
they apply especially to the county of Sussex.

COMMON SHELD-DUCK, on BURROW DUCK.

Ladorna cornuta. :

Tuts Duck cannot be called abundant on the Sussex coast,
but it is occasionally met with in small parties of four,
five, or six, at sea, most of which are immature, and it is
seldom seen on the shore; though I well remember, when
a boy, seeing about such a number on the beach at Shoreham,
which I approached within some hundred yards or so; at
that distance they looked black and white when they rose,
but an old coastguardsman told me they were Bar Ganders,
and had been about there two or three days. I suspect
the syllable “ Bar” is a contraction of “ Burrow.” Its
food consists of small mussels and other bivalves, sea-
worms, &c. The young, before they can fly, dive freely, but
whether the adult dive or not I have never been able to
ascertain.

On the south coast the nearest breeding-place to Sussex
is Poole Harbour, in Dorsetshire, whence I have received
eggs, taken ont of rabbit-holes in the sandhills on the coast,

COMMON SHELD-DUCK. 341

in which the nests are placed, sometimes near the entrance,
at others at a long distance from it. The nest is composed
of the dead coarse grass which is usually abundant on these
sandhills, and lined with a large quantity of the down of the
bird, which in texture and in value is almost equal to that
of the Eider Duck, and, when the parent is absent, the eggs
are completely buried in it.

Mr. Dennis informed me, but I have forgotten the date,
that two out of four Sheld-Ducks were killed in a pool left
by the tide, near the mouth of the Cuckmere river, at a
single shot, the cartridge passing through a young female
and killing an immature male beyond. He said that they
flew heavily, with the head low, but, settling among some
rocks, ran about in search of shell-fish very actively, and
that he had never seen more than four, nor less than two,
together, and that he had once seen a pair of young on the
Cuckmere in August, though they generally appear in the
winter. Mr. Booth, in ‘ Rough Notes,’ states that after a
long-continued spell of severe weather in winter, birds of
this species are frequently seen in the Channel, off the south
coast, in small parties of two or three, or twice that number.
Mr. Jeffery, in the ‘Zoologist’ (p. 1034), states that on
November 25th, 1868, he saw two Sheldrakes, there called
Bier Ganders, in Chichester Harbour; and in the same
Journal (p. 2108), Mr. Alwin S. Bell records one shot on
the Hastings coast, in February 1870. Mr. Gordon, in his
‘ History of Harting,’ states that the Sheld-Duck has been
occasionally seen on the large ponds in that parish. The
Sheld-Duck utters a low whistle during its flight.

342 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

RUDDY SHELDRAKE.
Tadorna casarea.

Onty one specimen of this rare visitant has been procured
in Sussex, though it has occurred, in other counties, some
half-dozen times altogether.

Selby (vol. vii. p. 293, Brit. Orn.) mentions that the first
British example was obtained at Bryanston, near Bland-
‘ford, Dorset, in the severe winter of 1776, and is now in the
Newcastle Museum. In Mr. Dresser’s ‘ Birds of Europe’
(vol. vi. p. 464) it is stated that the author was informed
by a collector of Mr. Méschler, in Southern Russia, as
follows :— The Ruddy Sheldrake breeds here in the hollow
trees ; and the male perches on a branch of the same tree
in which the female is sitting and gives warning in case of
danger; and the female leaves her eggs when warned and
both birds fly round. Should anyone approach with a dog,
the Duck will fly close to the latter, and can then be shot;
but if once missed they are careful to keep well out of
range.” Mr. Dresser also states that Mr. Salvin and Canon
Tristram found it breeding in Algeria, in clefts in the cliffs ;
and that the nest itself consists merely of down plucked
from the breast of the bird. In Yarrell (vol. iv. p. 349) the
Ruddy Sheldrake is said to make its nest sometimes in the
middle of a cornfield, or in a marmot burrow on the plains.

The Sussex specimen to which I have alluded, was shot
on September 83rd, 1890, near Harting, and was taken to
the vicar, Mr. Gordon, who sent it for preservation to
Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, where I saw it. It is a female,
undergoing the usual autumnal change of plumage, a few
freshly coloured feathers appearing about the neck and
breast, Mr, Gordon informed me that it appeared to be in

RUDDY SHELDRAKE.—MALLARD. 348

a perfectly wild state; it had evidently never been pinioned.
This species is known also as the Casarca Duck, Kasarka
being its Russian name. Latham says that it breeds on the
banks of the Volga; and Temminck, that it builds its nest
in hollow trees, in the deserted holes of animals on the
banks, and in those of the rocks which bound some of the
great Russian rivers.

MALLARD, or WILD DUCK.
Anas boscas.

Tue Mallard is resident, and a few breed on the margins of
many of the large pieces of water throughout the county,
generally among the sedges and other coarse herbage at the
“tail” of the ponds, which signifies that part of them into
which the stream, the damming up of which forms the ponds,
enters. It very frequently places its nest in a wood, far
from the water, or by the side of some bushy unfrequented
pit. When there are eggs, they are covered with dead leaves
or rushes before incubation has commenced; afterwards
with a profusion of down. The nest has been occasionally
found on the head of a pollard willow or other tree, some-
times at a considerable height from the ground. Large
numbers are added to our indigenous birds in October,
which remain throughout the winter and depart before the
end of March. They do not often assemble in such large
flocks as other wild fowl. The Wild Duck, when flying,
has its head and neck stretched out in a line with its body.
It feeds mostly on vegetable matter, small fish, and frogs;
it is very dexterous in snapping up insects on the wing,
and. is especially fond of acorns. St. John states, in his
‘Sport, &c., in Morayshire,’ p. 8, that it feeds on the

344 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

potatoes left in the fields. It seldom dives, except when
pursued by a dog or sporting with its fellows, when it
frequently rises at a great distance from the spot where it
went down. The old Drake, in confinement, often becomes
very tyrannical.

-GADWALL.
Anas strepera.

Tue Gadwall is a rare bird in Sussex and does not generally
affect the salt water, but the marshes aloiig the coast,
selecting much the same food as the Mallard. It breeds in
some of the English counties, but has not yet been known to
do so in Sussex. During the day it conceals itself among
the reeds, coming forth to feed at night. It “does not dive.
IT have a note that an adult male was shot at Amberley in
March 1845. In Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 373) the nest is
described as made of grass, lined with down, placed in a dry
spot at some little distance from the water. Mr. Knox says
that it has been occasionally shot at Pagham, and at Shore-
ham. A female was shot by Mr. Burra in Pett Level, and pre-
served by Mr. Bristow, who thinks it was in November 1881.

SHOVELER, SPOONBILL DUCK, or
BROADBILL.

Spatula clypeata.

Tus very handsome species visits our coast and marshes in
the winter, and is not very uncommon. The nest has not been
found in this county, though a few have bred .in many others.

SHOVELER. 845

I have received the eggs from Hickling Broad, in Norfolk.
A pair of these birds, which I have on a pond in my
grounds, spend a good deal of their time in swimming
round and round, with their heads close together and their
bills immersed in the water as far as the feathers of the
forehead, thus having their nostrils under water. They raise
- their heads about every half minute to breathe, and this
they continue to do for some quarter of an hour or so.
At other times they plough the surface of the water, which
they sift through their pectinated bills, retaining the ani-
malcula which inhabit it. They are very fond of duck-weed,
with which at one time the pond was covered ; however, a
pair of these birds very quickly cleared it. The only food I
give them is maize, on which they seem to flourish. They
are very skilful in catching insects on the wing. In its
natural state the Shoveler feeds on frogs and small crustacea,
as well as on the seeds of various grasses, and is particularly
fond of those of Carex pendula, The call-note of this Duck
has been said to be somewhat like that of the Moorhen,
but the only note I have heard from my pair may be
represented by the syllables “konk, konk,” uttered with
much bowing and flexion of the neck.

When shooting at Bolney Mill pond, on November 6th,
1864, a friend shot a female of this species as it flew over
his head, in company with two others ; four male birds then
rose from the further end of the pond and flew over our
heads out of gunshot. In December of the same year an
immature Shoveler was shot from the same pond, where
three or four more of these birds were killed, after the one
I mentioned on November 6th. On the 29th of that month
I was shown a male and female which had been shot on
Ewhurst pond, in the parish of Shermanbury. Mr. Jeffery
(p.n.) states that two males were shot at Bosham, in Novem-
ber 1858, and another at Chichester, on December 7th, 1867.

346 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

Mr. Booth observes that, during the winters he shot in
Pevensey Level, he frequently saw the Shoveler. It breeds
in several counties of England and Scotland, forming its
nest of grass and down.

PINTAIL DUCK.
Dafila acuta.

Tue Pintail comes to our coast regularly in October, and
large flocks are often met with at sea, whence they come
into the mud flats to feed at night, on mollusks and small
crustacea. It is also found in the marshes, especially on
those parts which are flooded. It generally prefers the
shallow water, where its long neck can reach'the vegetation
at the bottom.

Though a somewhat silent bird, it occasionally utters a
hoarse sort of quack as well as a low guttural grunting note.
It does not breed in Britain, but the nest is described as
built among grass, in dry places, at some distance from the
water, and is rather deep and lined with dead grass. Itis the
first of the Ducks to enter the decoy, and one of the best
for the table. It has been killed at Pagham, and at Chi-
chester Harbour, as well as at Amberley, also in Hentfield
Level, and at Pulborough, but the greatest number are met
with on the sea. I remember seeing fifty or sixty in
February 1861, a mile or two off Rye Harbour. Mr.
Wolley found the nest near Muonioniska, sunk in the moss
in a marshy spot, and lined with down.

TEAL. 347

TEAL.

Querquedula crecca.

Tuis, the smallest of our British Ducks, is in some degree
indigenous, a few breeding among the coarse weeds of our
larger ponds and marshes. Our native birds receive large
additions from the north and east, and they are almost’ the
earliest waterfowl] to arrive, a few making their appearance
before the end of October, and those which do not remain
to breed frequently stay as late as the second week in April.
Mr. Booth (‘Rough Notes’) observes under the date of
1881, April 11th :—“ The Teal drakes whistling almost con-
tinually when not disturbed, the sound being somewhat
similar to that of the call of the cock Bullfinch. The note of
the female, who now and then responds, resembles the squeak
of a penny trumpet.” The Teal feeds chiefly at night, on
seeds of various Carices and other water-plants, but during
the daytime is generally concealed among the coarse herbage.
It is essentially a freshwater Duck, though when frozen out
it takes to the sea or salt-marshes. It seldom congregates
in very large numbers, six or eight being usually found
together under the name of a plump of Teal. They may be
often found in the numerous pits in the woods, and in the
less frequented part of the open country, but seem rather to
prefer those thickly surrounded with trees, and when dis-
turbed seldom fly to any great distance, dropping into some
similar pit to that from whence they had been driven. The
nest is very like that of the Mallard.

348 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

GARGANEY, on SUMMER TEAL.

Querquedula circia.

Tus beautiful little Duck is certainly much rarer than the
Common Teal. It may be looked upon as an occasional
summer visitor. It has not been known to breed in Sussex.

Some fifty years ago I found a nest, with seven eggs, in the
driest part of a fen not far from Upware, in Cambridge-
shire. It was composed of dry sedge, the eggs being thickly
covered with fine down. In Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 394)
it is stated that, in the Broad district of Norfolk, the densest
reed-beds are preferred; but Mr. Booth (‘ Rough Notes’)
makes this observation respecting the Garganey :—‘ About
Hickling Broad, where I have had ample opfortunities of
observing them during the summer, I remarked that the
eggs were usually laid in the patches of rushes in the unre-
claimed marshes, at some little distance from the water, not
a single nest having, to the best of my knowledge, ever been
detected in a reed-bed. Now and then the birds were
known to have bred among the long coarse grass and tufts of
rushes on the dryer portions of the hills surrounding: the
Broads, but as a rule they go further from their usual
haunts.”

In my own notes I find the following :—“ Mr. Ellman
informs me that his friend Mr. Vidler shot, on the 11th of
March, 1852, four male specimens of the Garganey, near
Pevensey ; again, on the 21st of March, 1857, three speci-
mens of the Garganey were observed at sea about fifteen
miles off Brighton, and one, a;male, was shot. “ The food of
the Garganey is said, in Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. pp. 394~—
395), to consist of water-plants, grain, insects: and their
larvee, small frogs, worms, &c. I can find no proof of

GARGANEY.—WIGEON, 349

either this species or the Common Teal feeding on acorns, as
the name would lead one to suppose. Mr. Knox (O. R.
p. 244) thus states :—“ Immature examples of the Garganey
are not unusual in the winter at Pagham, Shoreham, Rye,
and Hastings.” Now, as the Garganey is a spring and
summer visitant, I fancy there is some mistake. In April
1866 (‘ Zoologist,’ p. 266, s.s.), Mr. Jeffery has recorded
that a pair of these handsome little Ducks were killed near
Selsey, and a male, now in the Chichester Museum, in the
same month some years before; and Mr. Monk notes, on
p. 2141, that on March 25th, 1870, an immature male
Garganey was shot in the marshes near Lewes, in company
with six others.

WIGEON.

Mareca penelope.

Tar Wigeon, which from its note is also known as the
Whew, arrives in considerable numbers about the end of
September, which continually increase through the winter.
In February the males seem to select their partners ; after
this, they do not gather together in such large flocks, and
by the beginning of March they have mostly departed
for the breeding-season. The Wigeon lives on vegetable
matter, chiefly, according to Waterton, on the short grass
which is the favourite food of the domestic Goose; it also
frequently attends the Pochard, when it is pulling up Zostera
marina, of which the Pochard eats only the root, and the
Wigeon the fronds, which are left floating on the surface of
the water. Ina domestic state the Wigeon does well on
maize, and attends the diving Ducks, if several are diving
together, and picks up something, for I never could ascertain

350 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

what, which floats to the surface from the mud. At night
the Wigeon comes in from the sea to the marshes, and
freshwater ditches and pools, and the shrill whistle of the
wings and the cry of the bird may often be heard through-
out the night. The Wigeon generally goes northward to
breed, yet that it occasionally breeds in Sussex appears from
the following instance. The late Mr. C. Scrase Dickins, of
Coolhurst, ncar Horsham, informed me that, in the middle
of May 1854, he saw the old and young birds swimming
about in Birchin Bridge Pond, and that the nest was about
seventy or eighty yards from the water in the old copse,
between the Hammer Pond (so named from being one of those
which drove the machinery for breaking up the iron-stone
in former days) and Hawkins Pond, all three of which are
near Coolhurst, and that the nest was very similar to that
of the Wild Duck, with perhaps more down. He told me
also that they had a brood the summer before, “but he did
not then know of the nest ; his keeper told him that they had
bred several times in the forest. Mr. Booth says that when
the drake Wigeon begins to whistle, the mandibles are
opened. wide for several seconds.

Mr. Selby was the first to discover the nest in Scotland,
which was on an island in Loch Laighal, well concealed
among rushes, and composed of their decayed stems, inter-
woven with a large quantity of the bird’s down. It breeds
abundantly in Norway and Lapland.

POCHARD.
Fuligula ferina.

‘Tux most abundant of the diving Ducks, and the best of all
for the table, arrives on our coast about the middle of April,

POCHARD. 361

very few remaining to breed. In fact, I know of only one
instance of its nest having been found in the county, which
I discovered myself, on the side of the lower Mill Pond, at
Bolney, close to the water-side. It contained three eggs,
but I unfortunately cannot give the date. The bird is very
clumsy and awkward on the land, and heavy and sluggish
on the wing ; on its first rising, flapping for a short distance
along the surface of the water. It feeds chiefly on Zostera
marina, which it obtains in the shallows of the estuaries,
eating only the root, though when at sea it also finds various
crustacea and small fish. In a semi-domesticated state the
Pochard does well on maize. The only note I have heard it
utter is a harsh curr, curr, except that, when courting the
female, the male has a note resembling the syllables “ poo-
00-00,” delivered with the head and neck stretched straight
out towards her, almost on the surface of the water. It
dives with great ease, but does not use its wings under
water. I have never but once seen my birds interfere with
fish; in that case one of them gave a pretty hard peck to a
considerable-sized tench, which was on the surface of the
water.

The nest is merely a hollow in the ground, lined with
dead sedge and down. The Pochard is generally known to
the wild fowler and the poulterer as the Dun bird, and is so
difficult to take in the ordinary decoy pipe, from its cunningly
diving back when it perceives that it is entering it, that an
especial contrivance has to be adopted for capturing it, as
from the great estimation in which it is held for the table,
and the large numbers which may be taken at a time, it ig
one of the most valued of all the Ducks.

Mr. Jeffery remarks (p. n.) that he saw about sixty,
mostly adult males, in Aldworth Pond, near Stansted, in
January 1867, and that three were shot in Ratham Mill
Pond, in January 1879. Since writing the above, I have

352 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX,

heard a female Pochard on my pond utter a hoarse dissyllabic
croak, inexpressible in writing, the head at the same time
being thrown back till the occiput touched the bird between
the wings.

FERRUGINOUS, on WHITE-EYED DUCK.
Fuligula nyroca.

Tus diminutive species, called also the Castaneous Duck, or
Nyvroca Pochard, is a very irregular visitant to this country,
and can only be called an accidental straggler, appearing
occasionally from January to April. It breeds in Poland
and in the valley of the Danube, but more abundantly in
Turkestan and Cashmere. The nest is described as placed
among high rushes, at a short distance from the water,
composed of dry aquatic plants and flags, and lined with its
own down and a few feathers. It is a very expert diver.
Its food consists principally of vegetable matter, insects,
and small mollusks.

I have heard of only two examples occurring in Sussex.
An adult male was shot in January afew years ago by the late
Mr. Dennett, of Woodmancote Place, on a pond near his
house, where I have lately seen it, but was unable to ascer-
tain the date more precisely. It was preserved by the late
Mr. Swaysland. A second example was shot from a pond
near the residence of Miss Simpson, of Fyning House,
Harting, by that lady’s gamekeeper, Mr. Collins, and pre-
sented to Mr. Gordon, vicar of the above parish, who sent
it to Mr. Kerr, of Stackstead, Lancashire, by whom it was
identified as a young female of the Ferruginous Duck.

The first mention of this species as British seems to have
been made by Pennant, who says in ‘British Zoology’

FERRUGINOUS DUCK.—SCAUP DUCK. 358

(vol. ii. p. 272), published in 1812 :—“The description of
this species was sent to us by Mr. Bolton”; and after
giving this he further states: ‘This species he informed us
was killed in Lincolnshire; we do not find it mentioned by
any writer except Linneus, who took his description from
Rudbeck’s paintings, and adds that it is found, though
rarely, in the Swedish rivers.”

Temminck says that it breeds among reeds, on the borders
of large rivers and marshy districts. Mr. Green states that
he received the eggs from Holland. (See Hewitson, vol. ii.
p. 425, ed. 3.)

SCAUP DUCK.
Fuligula marila.

Tus Duck arrives on our shores in October, leaving again
early in April. It is exclusively a sea-frequenting species,
never coming inland, or into the estuaries, unless wounded,
or driven in by stress of weather. It is found in small
nuxobers all along the coast, wherever the water is shallow,
but occasionally flocks of several hundred are met with in
the Channel, many miles from the land. This Duck feeds
on marine vegetable matters and shell-fish, especially mus-
sels, the vast beds of which being called in the northern
counties scaups, has given rise to the name. The large
flocks are generally difficult of access, but when in small
parties they are much easier to approach within shot. The
Scaup swims very low in the water, showing nothing but the
back, head, and neck above the surface, and is a very expert
diver. It does not breed in Sussex, but retires into the far
north.

In Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 426) may be found the fol-

24

354 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

lowing :—“ The late Mr. Proctor sent the author word that
the Scaup Duck is a very common species in Iceland, where
it breeds either among the aquatic herbage, or the large
stones near the edge of fresh water, making a slight nest,
with a quantity of down covering the eggs.” As an article
of food the Scaup is not worth having, as the flesh is rank
and fishy. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) states that in February 1870
a female was shot near Chichester, and several were seen
about that time ; and in December 1879 another was killed in
Bosham Harbour. He considers it a rare bird on that part
of the coast. In ‘Zoologist’ (p. 9047) Mr. Dutton states
that Scaup Ducks were unusually plentiful about Eastbourne,
in February 1864.

TUFTED DUCK.

Fuligula cristata.

Tus species is not uncommon on our coast, and in the
estuaries from October to March; a few may occasionally
be seen on the larger inland ponds. It is an excellent diver,
and though it stays under water for a considerable period,
and often rises to the surface many yards from where it
went down, it does not use its wings under water. Mr.
Dickins informed me that there was a brood of Tufted
Duck on Birchin Pond in May 1853, and another on the
lake at Knepp Castle, in Shipley, near West Grinstead, in
1854; in both these cases the parents were wild birds. It
usually goes far more northward to breed, to wit, Rainworth,
near Mansfield, Nottingham, whence Mr. Whitaker kindly
sent me the eggs. It breeds also in Norfolk and on many of
the Scotch lakes, on one of which, at Skene, near Aberdeen,
I saw many pairs in August 1887, and from the peculiar
manceuvres of one bird, I have no doubt she had a brood on
the lake; but owing to the strong ripple on the water I

TUFTED DUCK.—GOLDEN-EYE, 355

could not get sight of the young. The note resembles the
syllables “kyrra, kyrra,? pronounced in a very high key.
The nest is placed among the rushes and other coarse
herbage, generally near the water, being a mere depression in
the ground lined with dry sedge, and the eggs are covered with
a profusion of down. The bird feeds on the weeds growing
in the water, and a pair which I have had for several years in
confinement, on a pond in my grounds, where there is no
vegetation growing in the water, have continued in excellent
health on maize.

I once met with one of these Ducks at table, Mr. Whitaker,
of Rainworth, on my visit to him to see their breeding-
place, having kindly had one served up for the occasion, and
I thought it a very good bird, though some authors do not
seem to agree with me,

Mr. Jeffery states that two males and one female were
killed on Aldworth Pond, Stansted, in January 1867, and a
few seen near Chichester in February 1870; and mentions
that a crippled female was caught in Ratham Mi!l Pond, in
January 1871, aud one bird shot on the same pond, in
December 1878.

GOLDEN-EYE.
Clangula glaucion.

Tue Golden-eye visits our shores in small flocks every
winter, being more abundant if the weather is very severe.
It is found at sea, as well as on most of the larger pieces of
water, inland, in the latter case generally singly. The adult
male is much more difficult to obtain than the female, or
immature bird, and, from its great power of diving, one which
is merely winged or otherwise slightly wounded is exceedingly
troublesome to capture, should it fall into the water. Its food

consists of small fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. It does not
: 2a2

356 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX,

breed in Sussex, nor I believe in any part of the British Isles.
In Norway and Lapland, it places its nest in holes of trees,
sometimes as much as eight feet from the ground, and the
bird has been seen to carry its young down to the water,
holding it under the bill, but supported by the neck of the
parent, Boxes are often supplied for it by the natives,
which are lined with the soft down of the bird. (See Yarrell,
B. B. vol. iv. p. 438.)

T have the following notes :—On January Ist, 1840, a male
specimen was shot in Henfield Level; the patch at the inser-
tion of the upper mandible, having but few white feathers,
showed it, I suppose, to be not quite mature. On February
6th, 1841, I was standing in a severe snowstorm, at Lancing,
‘with deep snow on the ground, when a Golden-eye suddenly
plunged perpendicularly down into a small salt-water pool,
like a piece of lead, but, immediately rising again, I shot it,
and it proved to be an adult male. On November 6th, 1856,
I shot a female Golden-eye on the lower pond at Bolney.

Mr. Booth, in his ‘ Rough Notes,’ states that he has
known several small parties, and single birds, to remain for
some weeks about the muddy harbours and estuaries of the
Sussex coast. Mr. Jeffery (p.n.) mentions that two adult
females were shot near Chichester, in January 1867; one,
immature, on Ratham Mill Pond, in February 1872, and
several in January 1887. Mr. Knox says that he has shot
this bird at Pagham, and received several specimens killed at
Burton and Pulborough, presenting that state of plumage
in which it has been called the “ Morillon.” Mr. Naylor,
in the ‘ Field’ of January 19th, 1887, records a male Golden-
eye shot on the Crumble pond, Eastbourne, in December
1886 ; and no doubt many other specimens have been obtained
in the county. An adult male was killed some years since,
on the lake at Knepp. Itis known in Sussex as the “ Magpie

Diver,” though in some counties this name is given to the
Tufted Duck.

LONG-TAILED DUCK,

2
a

LONG-TAILED DUCK.
Harelda glacialis.

Tus is a winter visitant, and is most numerous on our
coast during a long continuance of severe weather, and is by
no means common, although small flocks are occasionally met
with in the Channel. It feeds on fish, mollusks, crustacea,
and freshwater insects. Its note is loud and musical, and may
be represented by the word “calloo;” during the breeding-
season it is very pugnacious, often fighting with its com-
panions. It does not breed in Britain. The nests were found
by Messrs. Shepherd and Upcher, on a small island in Lake
Myvatn in Iceland, and were placed among low bushes by the
edge of fresh water, and composed of grass, with a thick lining
of down (see Yarrell, B. B. vol. iv. p. 449). .

In my own notes I find a female Long-tailed Duck was
obtained near Hailsham, in the winter of 1849-50. Mr.
Knox (B. B. p. 246) says :—“I shot a young male at Pagham
Harbour, out of a flock of Scaup Ducks (1839). Immature
specimens have occurred on other parts of the coast, near
Chichester, Brighton, and Pevensey, and I have a specimen
which was shot as far inland as Amberley, inthe hard winter
of 1844-5.”

Mr. Booth, in ‘Rough Notes,’ writes of these Ducks that
it is “ only when the weather is severe that they favour the
flat sandy shores to the west of Brighton, in Sussex, with a
visit. In December 1879 and again in 1880 I remarked them
in greater numbers than usual.... Small parties of from six.
to eight up to double that number are not unfrequently seen
in this part. Ona fine still morning, in the last week of
December 1883, when the sea was as smooth as glass, I noticed
about a dozen, in company with as many Hiders, and some

358 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

hundreds of Common and Velvet Scoters ; so watchful, how-
ever, were the whole community, that it was impossible to
approach within range.” A correspondent of the ‘ Field,’
February 5th, 1887, states that he had seen a male Long-
tailed Duck, which had been shot at Rye. Mr. Jeffery (p.n.)
records that a male and female were shot at Sidlesham, in
November 1860, and an immature specimen at the same
place, November 1868. In the ‘ Zoologist,’ Mr. Dutton
mentions that a fine female was killed by a farmer, with a
stone, while swimming in a small pond near Polegate, in
January 1864 (p. 9046); and at p. 2059, s.s., Mr. Jeffery
records an immature specimen, taken near Chichester,
November 25th, 1870, and another from Sidlesham,
December 1878.

EIDER DUCK. ‘
Somateria mollissina.

Tus species is met with in small numbers, and is rarely
found at any great distance from the sea. It is a regular
autumn and winter visitor to the Channel, off our coast,
generally in small flocks, feeding on the shallows, in company
with other species of diving Ducks, on small mussels and
other bivalves, crabs, and shrimps. According to Mr. Booth,
it also swallows sea-weed, grit, and small stones, to assist
digestion. Selby (‘British Ornithology,’ vol. ii. p. 339),
speaking of the nest in the Farne Islands, states that it is com-
posed of dried grasses, mixed with a quantity of the smaller
alge, and, as incubation proceeds, a lining of down plucked
by the bird from her own body is added. In Yarrell (B.B. vol.
iv. p. 459) it is stated that, although the nest is usually at no
great distance from the water, it has occasionally been found a
mile or two inland, and also at a considerable elevation.

EIDER DUCK.—COMMON SCOTER. 359

Colonel Feilden states that he has taken one in the Shetlands,
placed in the midst of knee-deep heather, at least 500 feet
above sea-level. Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 245) says that an
immature bird was shot on November 1830, at Chichester
Harbour, and two, some years before, at Rye Marsh, associated
with a flock of Brent Geese. Mr. Jeffery, in p. n., says that
a female was shot at Selsey, December 1858, and another
in December 1872, at Bosham; also a young male, at the
same place, in December 1880. Mr. Booth, in ‘Rough
Notes,’ states that one or two immature females were shot
off Rottingdean, in October 1882; that he secured two drakes,
out of eight immature birds, which were diving off a stony
bank ashort distance from the beach near Lancing; and that
he had frequently recognized Hiders off the coast of Sussex.
He refers to a flock of seven, which he saw on December
29th, 1883, somewhere off that coast.

In the ‘ Zoologist ’ for 1881 (p. 63) Mr. Herbert Langton,
of Brighton, states that an immature Hider was seen to settle
on some rocks, off Rottingdean, January 3rd of that year,
and after remaining all night, Mr. Guthrie, of that place,
after a long chase, succeeded in obtaining it; it had been
previously wounded.

COMMON SCOTER.
demia nigra.

Tus Scoter is an abundant visitor to the Channel every
winter, and is exclusively marine in its habits, assembling in
flights of some hundreds, on the sandy or rocky shallows,
where they obtain, by diviag, the bivalves, crustacea, and small
fish on which they subsist. Flocks of various numbers may be
constantly seen fishing off Shoreham and Lancing, generally

360 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

about a mile from the shore, but individuals often fly in to
the very edge of the breakers, whence, however, they soon
return to the main body. This bird never enters the har-
bours or estuaries, except in the very heaviest weather, or
when it has been crippled.

The Scoter is most commonly known as the “ Black Duck,”
but is occasionally called the Coot. It breeds in high North-
ern latitudes, and according to Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 274)
the nest is generally placed on an island, in a freshwater
lake, or in the bogs in the vicinity, and is composed of grass
and moss, with a lining of down. I have noted that on
February 7th, 1841, a specimen of this Duck was shot by the
late Mr. Scutt, on a piece of water near the Lewes Paper
Mills, known as the Pell, an adult male, the gizzard contain-
ing a single specimen of Cardium. Mr. Knox observes
that the Scoter may be found in the Channel at all times of
the year. The flesh of this species is extremely unpalatable,
strongly resembling a mixture of bad fishand rancid train-oil,
and itis perhaps for the sake of the additional mortification
that the Roman Catholics are permitted to enjoy it on fast-
days*. The French have a proverb, “Il ressemble & une
macreuse (scoter), il n’est ni chair ni poisson,” applied to an
unreliable person. The only note I have heard from this bird

resembles somewhat the syllables “ ¢é, t2” hoarsely repeated
several times.

* On this subject there is an amusing treatise by M. Graindorge, pub-
lished at Caen in 1680 and reprinted at Paris in 1780. See also ‘ Corre-.

spondence of John Ray,’ published by the Ray Society in 1848 (pp. 181,
134, 185, 147, 148),

VELVET SCOTER. 361

VELVET SCOTER.
demia fusca.

Tue visits of this Duck to our coasts occur at the same
time as those of the Common Scoter, and, though less abun-
dant and more local, the habits of the two species seem
to me identical, except that the Velvet is much the wilder
of the two, and appears in smaller flocks. According to
Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 479), itfrequents, and breeds on, the
large lakes in the mountainous districts of Scandinavia,
especially those of which the shores are flat and boggy, and
covered with vegetation; and the nest is placed in a dry spot
at a considerable distance from the water, in a mere depression
of the ground, under some bush or tree, and lined with leaves
and down. I take the following from my own notes :—

On February 23rd, 1841, Isaw, at a Brighton bird-stuffer’s
since dead, an adult male specimen, which had been shot near
Alfriston, several miles inland, and which passed into my
collection. At the end of February 1851, a male was picked
up dead, on the beach, at Rottingdean, and preserved by
Mr. Pratt, from whom I received the trachea. On February
20th, 1861, I shot, about a mile off Rye Harbour, four males
and one female, of this species, of which there were several
flocks, which we found impossible to approach in a sailing
boat, but by rowing, which was very hard work in the rather
heavy sea which was running at the time, I obtained a few
shots. The first was the only bad shot I ever made
with which I was greatly pleased, for I missed the leading
bird at which I aimed, and killed the two.behind it, at which
I did not shoot, a male and female; as I wanted specimens
this suited me well, as I had only a shoulder-gun. On

362 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

March 4th I was again at about the same place, and saw flocks
consisting of from three to thirteen, and obtained one more
male, though they would rarely allow the boat to approach
nearer them than about three hundred yards, and a few Black
Ducks, of which I saw many hundreds. The boatmen told
me they were generally there, and a little further to the east,
till late in June. The gizzards of both the Common and
the Velvet Scoters contained large full-grown specimens of
Cardium edule, and a few specimens of a small Arca. I was
there again soon after, in a perfectly calm sea, and could not
get near either species, though I saw many of both. Mr. Knox
states that he had a specimen, without date, which was killed
off Selsey Bill. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) observes that one was
obtained at Selsey, and went to Chichester Museum, but I
have not the date.

In the ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 9101) Mr. Dutton records that one
was taken alive, near Eastbourne, on April 14th,"1860; and
again (p. 9578) that he purchased a female, shot off that
town, November 2nd, 1865.

GOOSANDER.

Mergus merganser.

Tuts, the largest of the British Mergausers, is by no means
a common species, and seldom visits us, except in the hardest
winters, when it may be occasionally met with, both on fresh
water and onthe sea. Fish and crustacea seem to be its
only food. It breeds in hollows in trees. And Mr. Booth states
in ‘Rough Notes,’ that be has frequently obtained the young
in the down, in the Northern Highlands of Scotland. The
Goosander is known to the coast shooters as the “ Spear
Duck ;” its note is a loud whistle. Mr. Gordon, in his

GOOSANDER.—RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. 363

“History of Harting,’ includes it in the list of birds occurring
in that parish in severe winters. Mr. Booth states that
twenty-five years ago, at Pagham, and more lately at Rye
and Shoreham, he has met with this species. They are now
less plentiful about the Sussex harbours than on the East
coast. Mr. Dennis informed me that a fine male Goosander
was brought to him, killed near Seaford, in January 1850;
another (sex not mentioned), on the 17th of the same
month; and a third, shot in very severe weather, in December
1856. Mr. Jeffery (p.n.) states that a male Goosander was
shot at Birdham, in January 1868, which passed into the
Chichester Museum. One is mentioned, as procured near
St. Leonards-on-Sea, in February 1880, in the ‘ Field’
newspaper. Mr. Anthony Ralph Biddulph, of Burton Park,
has been good enough to inform me that he killed two speci-
mens of the Goosander on the lake there at one shot, but
that he never heard of the Hooded Merganser there, so that
the report alluded to by the Editor of Yarrell’s B.B. (vol. iv.
p. 510) was a mistake.

\

RED-BREASTED MERGANSER.

Mergus serrator.

Auruouey this species is not very common, it is more fre-
quently met with than the last, especially females and im-
mature birds, and is not so much addicted to fresh water,
though, as far as the tide runs up our rivers, it may occasion-
ally be found in them. Like the Goosander, it feeds exclu-
sively on fish, of which, when wounded, it will sometimes
disgorge a large number. It does not place its nest in hol-
lows of trees, but on the ground, generally among heather,
or under the shelter of thick bushes; in the South of England

364 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

it does not breed, but the nest has often been found in Scot-
land. When the bird has been long in salt water, the breast
becomes of a rich salmon colour. I have a female in my own
collection, shot at Shoreham in February 1842. Mr. Jeffery
(p. n.) mentions a male, killed at Selsey, December 1864, and
that he saw another male, killed in the neighbourhood, at Mr.
Beatson’s shop in Chichester, in the same month; that in
January 1867 they were numerous, and many were killed in
Chichester and Bosham Harbours, and that he found an eel
nearly a foot long, and a small crab, in one from Bosham.
In 1871, Mr. Jeffery saw four in Bosham Harbour, also a
few on the 18th of January, 1873, and one in the same year as
late as August Ist. In the ‘ Zoologist ’ (p. 6606), Mr. Wilson
records a male, shot near Worthing, in the spring of 1853.

SMEW.

Mergus albellus.

Tur Smew may be found in this county in considerable

-numbers, in most severe winters, the females, known as
“ Redheads,” being the most common. Like the rest of the
Mergi, it gets its living entirely by diving, at which it, like
them, is a great adept, fish being its only food.

Mr. Wolley, while in Lapland, was the first to find out its
breeding habits, of which a most interesting account may be
found in ‘ The Ibis’ for 1859 (pp. 69 to 76). The nest was
built in a hole of an old birch tree, which had been lined with
feathers. Mr. Wolley states that the Smew had a habit of
turing out the nest of the Golden-eye, and taking possession,
and that the eggs of the Smew being smaller, and thus less
saleable, the Smew, when caught in the hole, was killed by
the natives. I have an adult male in my own collection,

SMEW. 365

which was found dead, but in excellent condition, buried in
a snow-drift, by which, as no shot-marks were found on the
skin, it had apparently been overwhelmed while asleep, on the
bank of a ditch in the level near Alfriston. In my own notes
I find the following :—On February 19th, 1844, I saw, at a
bird-stuffer’s at Brighton, two adult male specimens of the
Smew, which had heen shot at Amberley, during the last
week of the previous month. Mr. Parker has noted that a
bird of this species was shot by Mr. Dunn, at Paul Grove,
near Bexhill, which is now in his possession. Mr. Jeffery
(p. n.) tells us that a young male was shot at Chichester
Harbour in January 1861; an adult male, near Mundham, in
January 1870; a female, at Bosham Mill Pond, September
1875; another at Ratham, December 10th, 1875; and a fifth,
a female, at Bosham, March 8th, 1888. In the ‘ Zoologist ’
(p. 4762) itis stated that in May 1855 Mr. Grantham ob-
tained a female, between Cuckmere Haven and Seaford. In
p. 9046, Mr. Dutton records an adult male shot at Cuckmere
Haven, in February 1864; at p. 9101, an immature specimen
shot near Eastbourne; and at p. 9578 he says that Mr. Bates,
of Eastbourne, received an immature specimen, February
1865.

APPENDIX.

Tue following extracts are from unpublished manuscripts of
W. Markwick, Esq., of Catsfield, near Battle, of the
existence of which I was fortunate enough to be made
aware while this book was in the press. The ornithological
portion of them consists of three folio volumes, containing
coloured drawings and descriptions of 136 British Birds.
There are also, in these same volumes, notices and figures of
a few Quadrupeds, Reptiles, and Crustacea, and descriptions
of Fish, without figures; two or three folio volumes con-
taining drawings and descriptions of Wild Plants, far better
executed than those of the Birds, all relating to Sussex, and
dating from 1793 to 1805, written partly at Catsfield and partly
at Denne Park ; one manuscript volume of Mr. Linnzus’
‘ Birds of Sweden,’ and several of Natural History extracts
from the works of numerous travellers. All these are in the
possession of Mrs. Eversfield, of Denne Park, near Horsham,
who most courteously gave me permission to make such
extracts as J should think suitable. It may not be generally
known that Mr. Markwick married Miss Eversfield, of Denne
Park, of which he eventually became the owner, and took
the name of Eversfield.

The following description of the Dark-Brown Hawk, or
Buzzard, differs somewhat from the coloured figure, which
more resembles the Honey Buzzard than any other of the
genus; but this species does not worry Rooks, and is
not in this country in the winter, neither do the given
dimensions agree with those of the Honey or any other

APPENDIX. 367

Buzzard. It is impossible, even with the assistance of the
figure, to decide with certainty what bird Mr. Markwick
intended to represent. I, however, give the description, and.
leave it, quantum valeat :—

“A Dark-Brown Hawk, or Buzzard, Falco—When I
arrived at Denn Park, near Horsham, in May 1793, I found
in the Garden two Birds of the Falcon Genus. One was the
Common Buzzard before described, and the other was a
Hawk or Buzzard of a very dark brown Colour, which was
caught alive in the Park by the Gardiner, during the pre-
ceeding Winter. He observed two of them to resort together
in Pursuit of the Rooks, and caught one of them with a
Snare. I ordered this Bird to be put into a Cage, and made
the Drawing from the living Bird. It was somewhat less,
and more slender, than the Common Buzzard, and its
Measurements were nearly as follow: Its Length from the
Tip of the Bill to the end of the Tail, about 18 inches, and
its Breadth from Tip to Tip of the Wing when extended,
about four feet. Its Bill was hooked, of a dark blue, with
a blackish Tip, and the Cere was of a Lemon Colour, as were
the Edges of the Mouth, which was beset with several black
Hairs, or Bristles. The Eyes were large and beautiful, the
Irides of a hazel Colour, the Head, hinder Part of the Neck,
Back, Wings, and Tail, were of a dark-brown chestnut
Colour, darkest on the Quills and Tail, which last was barred
with dusky ; the Chin and Throat were whitish, streaked
with dark brown; the Breast and Belly were also irregularly
variegated with white and dark brown. The Thighs were
brown, and the Vent variegated or barred with dark brown
and white. The Legs and Feet were of a pale yellow, and
the Claws hooked, sharp pointed, and of a black Colour. If
this is not a Variety of the Moor Buzzard, F. Aruginosus,
I know not of what Species it is, and itis probably new as a
British Bird.”

Of the Kite, of which Mr. Markwick gives a description
and figure, though he does not say where it was killed, he

368 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX..

makes the following remarks :—‘ Montague says, ‘This
Bird, from its great Length of Wings and Tail, is capable of
supporting itself in the Air, with very little Motion, and for
a great Continuance, but is slow in Flight.’ This is true in
general, but it can occasionally exert itself with great Quick-
ness. I once saw two Kites soaring in the Air with an easy
Motion, at no great Distance from a Reedy Marsh, when
one of them by Accident, or by Design, dropped Something
from its Claws, which appeared to me, as it fell towards the
Ground, to be either a small Eel or a Snake; when instantly
the other Kite darted after it with amazing Velocity, and
caught it in its Claws with surprizing Dexterity before it
reached the Ground.”

Mr. Markwick gives a figure and description of the Hobdy,
and says, “ That it breeds here I know, having seen a Young
one of this Species in the Garden at Denn Park, which was
taken in the Neighbourhood of Horsham.”

Of the Roller, which he mentions in his Catalogue in the
Trans. of the Linn. Soe. vol. iv., he gives a figure and adds
the following :—‘‘ The Bird from which I drew this Figure
was shot and caught alive near Crowhurst Church, in this
Neighbourhood, on the 22nd of September, 1790, It lived
several Days, but was dead, flayed, and badly stuffed, when I
saw it on the 2nd of October after.”

Speaking of the Landrail, of which he gives a figure,
he remarks :—“‘ Though Mr. Latham says few Places in
England are destitute of this Bird in Summer, I am inclined
to think it does not breed here in Sussex, as I never heard
of any Nest or Young Ones being seen, nor did I ever see the
Bird itself earlier than the 24th of August. That it is a Bird
of Passage there is no Doubt, appearing with us about the
latter end of August, and disappearing about the Beginning
of November, for the latest I ever heard of was one being
shot on or about the 6th of November.”

In the same MS. he says of the Great Snipe :—“ This
Bird was killed in the Neighbourhood of Horsham, and

APPENDIX. 369

given to me by a Friend, on the 1st of October, 1793.” Here
follows the description. He then states, “There can be
little Doubt of this being the Scolopax Major of Latham,
tho’? my Specimen is inferior in Size and Weight to the
Bird described by him, and seems to differ also somewhat in
the Colour of its Plumage; perhaps this Species is subject to
Variety.”

He observes of the Flycatcher :—“TIt is the latest of all
the Summer Birds of Passage, as I have known but one
Instance, in Three and Twenty Years, of its Appearance
before May, and that only two Days sooner, viz., 29th of
April ; perhaps because its Principal Food, Flies, do not
abound till that Time. However, it can feed on Fruit, and
is reckoned very mischievous in Gardens, on account of its
eating Cherries.” —Now that this is quite a mistake I have no
doubt. Isuppose whoever gave Mr. Markwick his information
had mistaken the Garden Warbler, which is very fond of
cherries, for the Spotted Flycatcher.—Wm. Borner.

Of the Siskin, Mr. Markwick observes that “It is a Bird of
Passage. Mr. Latham says it is not unfrequent in England
in the Winter Season, but I have never seen it here at that
Time; the earliest of my observing it was on the 5th of
April, 1768, and, in the Year 1780, I first saw it on the 10th
of April, and it continued with us till the 30th of the same
Month. I have seen it hanging back downwards, like a
Titmouse, as Mr. Latham describes it, picking the Seeds out
from the Cones of Fir Trees, which at that time began to
open from the Heat of the Sun, Its Stay with us is not
above a Fortnight or three Weeks at the Farthest.”

Of the Lesser Redpoll he says :—‘‘This Bird, which I
received from a Friend, was killed on the 27th of November,
1797 ; it is very rare in this Neighbourhood, being the only
Specimen I ever saw.”

Of the Waxwing, Mr. Markwick says :—“ The Bird from
which I drew the figure was killed in this Neighbourhood
about the middle of February, 1801.” Here follows a

2B

870 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

description of this specimen. He also mentions having
examined two more of these Birds, and remarks on the
difference in the number of the waxlike appendages on the
wings. With regard to the Golden Oriole, of which he gives
a figure of a male, he remarks :—“ This Bird, which is very
rare in England, though not so in France and other parts of
Europe, was killed in the Neighbourhood and sent to me on
the 4th of May, 1807.”

“ The Swallow Tribe.—The earliest Visitor of this Tribe in
these Parts is the common House Swallow, Hiriundo rustica,
which makes its first Appearance generally in April. I
never saw it sooner than the 7th of that Month, nor have I
observed it later in the Year than the 16th of November,
and then but few of them, for they, in general, disappear
at least a Month sooner.

“The next is the House Martin, Hirundo urbica, which
appears usually in April. I never saw it earlier than the
14th of that Month, but I once saw it so late as the 8th of
December, though the generality of them had disappeared
long before that Time.

“The Sand Martin, Hirundo riparia, usually appears in
May. Having a Sand Bank in the Neighbourhood, where
some of these Birds breed, I have been able to ascertain
with some Degree of Certainty the Appearance of these Birds
for the last three Years. In 1789, on the 28th of April,
none were to be seen; but on the 6th of May I saw several.
In 1790, on the 8th of May, none were to be seen; but on
the 11th I saw several. Also in 1791, on the 5th and 7th
of May, none were to be seen, the Weather being cold. On
the 8th it grew warmer; and on the 10th I saw several.
In the first of these Years I saw one of these Birds about
the End of September for the last Time. In the next Year I
visited the Sand Bank on the 6th of September, but no
Birds were to be seen. In 1791 I went from home in
August, and when I returned on the 23rd of September,
none of these Birds were to be seen near the Sand Pit.

APPENDIX. 371

“The Swift, Hirundo apus, is the latest in its Visit, usually
appearing first in May, and not continuing with us nearly
so long as its Congeners ; the latest that I ever saw it was
the 11th of August.

“« How this Tribe of Birds dispose of themselves in Winter?
is a Question that has employed the Pens of the most able
Naturalists, some of whom assert that they migrate from
one Country to another, and others that they dispose of
themselves in Holes and Caverns, and even under Water,
remaining in a torpid State till the Return of Spring, and
then survive and resort to their old Haunts: both of which
opinions have been so ably supported by Authors of the
first Credit, that it is scarcely possible to refuse one’s Assent
to each of them ; and indeed (tho’ it may be thought pre-
sumptuous in me to hazard a Conjecture after such great
Authorities) I am inclined to think that what that very able
Naturalist Mr. Pennant asserts is the real Fact, that the
greatest Part of this Tribe do migrate, but that some of
them, perhaps the late Broods and weak Birds, have a Power
of laying themselves up during Winter in Holes and Caverns,
in a torpid State, and of reviving again in the Spring at the
same Time with the Flies and other Insects; for why should
not the Bird be capable of doing this as well as the Insect
on which it feeds? Of their Migration I think I have often
observed what amounted to almost a Proof of it, viz., their
assembling together in great Numbers (I mean only Swal-
lows and Martins, H. rustica and urbica) on the Tops of
Buildings, in the Month of September, and sometimes great
Flights of them are seen very high in the Air; indeed from
the Testimony of Sir Charles Wager and Capt. Wright
there can be no Doubt of it: and some Circumstances have
induced me to give Credit to the Opinion of (at least some
of them) passing the Winter in a Torpid State. So late as
November, long after the Majority of them have disappeared,
TI have frequently observed, on a warmer Day than usual,
one or two Swallows or Martins flying backwards and

2B2

4

372 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

forwards under a warm Hedge or on the sunny side of some
old Building; nay, once on the 8th of December, I saw two
Martins, flying about very briskly, the Weather being mild.
From whence could these Birds come if not from some Hole
or Cavern where they had laid themselves up for the
Winter? Surely it will not be asserted that these Birds
migrated from the Coast of Africa, or any other distant
Country, at that Season of the Year merely on the coming
of two or three fine Days? Again, in the Spring a few
Swallows or Martins will frequently make their Appearance
on a warm Day so early as April, but they do not appear in
any Number till later in the Summer, and tho’ this does not
absolutely prove their lying in a torpid State, yet it favours
that Opinion.”
Thus far Mr, Markwick.

I was not aware, till after this work was in the press, that
Mr. T. J. Monk, of Lewes, had, in the ‘ Field’ Newspaper
of January the 25th, 1871, while endeavouring to induce
the Sportsmen of East Sussex to establish a close time for
Woodcock, from the lst February, given a list of parishes
in that division of the county in which he had known them
to breed, namely, Ardingly, Ashburnham, Balcombe, Battle,
Brightling, Catsfield, Chailey, Crawley, Dallington, East
Grinstead, East Hoathly, Fletching, Frant, Hartfield,
Maresfield, Mayfield, Newick, Rotherfield, Slaugham, Tun-
bridge Wells, Waldron, and Worth. There are other
interesting points in Mr. Monk’s paper, but I abstain from
further extracts, as I hear that we shall shortly have further
information on the subject from My. Monk himself.

In the History and Antiquities of Horsham, by Miss Do-
rothea E. Hurst, p. 232, may be found this note :— The very
rare circumstance of a Redwing’s nest being found in this
country occurred at Warnham, near Horsham, in April
1872. It was discovered by Mr. D. M. G. Price, in a low

APPENDIX, 378

bush overhanging a stream, at the end of Warvham Mill
Pond. The bird (well known to him) was on the nest, and
flew off when he approached it. The nest had five eggs in it.
One of them was shewn to the Naturalist, Mr. Hall, who
unhesitatingly pronounced it to be that of the Redwing.”
As Mr, Hall is now in America, I have had no opportunity
of obtaining further information on the subject.

A Great Bustard was shot on Pett Level on the 6th of
January, 1891, by Charles Cooke, and sold by him to Mr. E.
Vidler, of Havelock Road, Hastings. It was a female, and
in good condition, and weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz., the crop con-
taining dry grass. It is somewhat remarkable that of seven
Great Bustards obtained in various counties between the
9th of December, 1890, and the 5th of February, 1891, all
should have been females. See ‘ Zoologist,’ 1891, pp. 104-
105.

The extremely severe frost of the winter of 1890-91,
which, with a very slight break or two, lasted from the
beginning of December to the middle of January, though it
brought an unusually large number of Ducks and Geese, as
well as of the three species of Swan, all along the coast,
was not productive of many really rare species. Those
principally worthy of notice among this class were a
specimen of the Pink-footed Goose, mentioned in the fore-
going pages, a considerable number of Smews, a few Shell-
Ducks, and a remarkable fine male Goosander, which was
shot on the Western Rother in West Harting, and recorded
by the Rev. H. D. Gordon in the ‘ Zoologist,’ p. 117, 1891.
An unusually large number of the Common Bittern also
occurred in various parts of the county, one of which was
shot as it rose from a bed of cabbages in the western part of
the town of Brighton. A fully mature specimen of the
Little Gull was shot at Shoreham. Several Shore Larks
were obtained on the coast near Brighton, of which five or
six were taken to Messrs. Pratt, who also received five
Lapland Buntings and a large number of Snow Buntings and
Bramblings. z

INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES.

Accentor, Alpine, 50.
Auk, Little, 292.
Avocet, 218,

Bee-eater, 170.
Bittern, American, 321.

—, Little, 318.
Blackbird, 48.
Blackcap, 73.
Bluethroat, 54.
Brambling, 123, 373.
Bullfinch, 136.
—,, Scarlet, 187,
Bunting, 118. ,

—,, Black-headed, 121.

—,, Cirl, 119.

——, Lapland, 115, 373.
—, Little, 117.

——, Reed, 116.

—, Rustic, 117.

——, Snow, 114, 378.
—,, Yellow, 119.

Bustard, Great, 199, 373.

——,, Little, 201.
Buzzard, Capped, 21.
——, Common, 16.
——, Honey, 19.

— , Moor, 18.

—, Rough-legged, 18,

Chaffinch, 122.
Chiffchaff, 76.

, Common, 319, 373.

Chough, 144,

Coot, 196.

Cormorant, 304,

——,, Green, 306.
Crake, Baillon’s, 192.
——., Corn, 189.

——, Little, 191.
—, Spotted, 190.
Crane, 197.

Creeper, Tree, 81.
Crossbill, 189.

——, Parrot, 140,
Crow, Black, 150.
——, Carrion, 156.
——,, Grey, 148.
—., Royston, 150.
——, Saddleback, 150.
Cuckoo, 151.

Curlew, Common, 249,
Curlew, Stone, 202.

Daw, 158.

Dipper, 43.

Diver, Black-throated, 296,
——, Great Northern, 294.
——,, Red-throated, 297.
Dotterel, 203.

Dove, Ring, 176,

—., Rock, 178.

——,, Stock, 177.

——, Turtle, 179.

Duck, Casarca, 343.

——, Castaneous, 352,

376 INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES.

Duck, Common Sheld, 340.
—, Eider, 359.

— , Ferruginous, 352,
— , Long-tailed, 356.
——,, Pintail, 348.

——, Ruddy Sheld, 342.
——, Scaup, 358.

—., Tufted, 354,

——., White-eyed, 352.
— , Wild, 843.
Dunlin, 229,

Eagle, Cinereous, 1.
—, Sea, 1.

—, White-tailed, 1.
Elk, 834,

Falcon, Greenland, 6.
——,, Gyr, 5.

——,, Peregrine, 7.
——.,, Red-legged, 10.
Fieldfare, 46.

Finch, Mountain, 128.
Flycatcher, Pied, 41.
—, Spotted, 39, 369.

Gadwall, 344.

Gallinule, Olivaceous, 191,
Gannet, 304.

Garganey Teal, 348,
Godwit, Bar-tailed, 248,

, Black-tailed, 247,
Golden-eye, 355.
Goldfinch, 180.
Goosander, 362, 373.
Goose, Bean, 330.

—, Bernicle, 332.

—— , Brent, 333.

——,, Grey-lag, 328.

——,, Laughing, 329,
——,, Pink-footed, 331, 373.
——,, Solan, 307.

—., White-fronted, 329.

Grebe, Eared, 801.

—, Great Crested, 297.
——-, Little, 302.

——, Red-necked, 298.
——, Sclavonian, 300.
Greenfinch, 128.
Greenshank, 246,
Grosbeak, Pine, 188.
— , Scarlet, 137.
Grouse, Black, 181.
——,, Sand, 180.

Gull, Black-headed, 264.
——, Bonapartian, 262.
——, Common, 266,
——., Glaucous, 270,
——,, Great Black-backed, 269.
— , Herring, 267.
——,, Iceland, 272.

— , Ivory, 274. .

—, Kittiwake, 273..
——, Laughing, 265.
———, Lesser Black-backed, 268.
— , Little, 262, 373.
—-, Masked, 265.

——, Ross’s Rosy, 266.
——, Sabine’s, 261.
Guillemot, Black, 291,
——, Bridled, 289.

——, Common, 289,
—., Ringed, 289..

Harrier, Hen, 22. .
——, Marsh, 21.
——, Montagu’s, 25.
Hawfinch, 126.
Hawk, Sparrow, 18.
Hedge-Sparrow, 61.
Heron, Common, 307.
—, Night, 317.
—, Purple, 314.
——.,, Squaceo, 315.
Hobby, 9, 368.
Hoopoe, 168.
House-Spairow, 125, ,

INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES.

This, Glossy, 824.
Jay, 155,

Kestrel, 12.
Kingfisher, 171,
Kite, 14, 367.
Knot, 233,

Landrail, 189, 368.
Lapwing, 210.

Lark, Crested, 111.

——, Shore, 107, 373.
——,, Short-toed, 112.
—, Sky, 109.

—, White-winged, 113.
—., Wood, 110.

Linnet, 134.

Magpie, 153.

Mallard, 343.

Martin, 160, 370. .

, Sand, 161, 370,
Merganser, Hooded, 363.
, Red-breasted, 363.
Merlin, 11.

Moorhen, 194.

Morillon, 356.

Nightingale, 53,
Nightjar, 164.
Nutcracker, 156.
Nuthatch, 82.

Oriole, Golden, 42, 370.
Ortolan, 120.

Osprey, 3.

Ousel, Ring, 48.

——, Water, 43.

Owl, Barn (Danish), 34.
——, Brown, 27.

——,, Eagle, 31.

——,, Little, 33.

——, Long-eared, 29.
——,, Scops, 32.

Owl, Short-eared, 30.
—,, Tawny, 27.
—, Wood, 27..
Oyster-catcher, 212.

Partridge, Common, 186.
——, French, 187.
——, Red-legged, 187.
Peewit, 210.

Petrel, Fork-tailed, 284,
— , Fulmar, 281.
——., Leach’s, 284.
——, Storm, 286.

——., Wilson’s, 287.
Phalarope, Grey, 217.
——, Red-necked, 218.
Pheasant, 182.

Pie, 153.

Pigeon, Wood, 176.
Pipit, Meadow, 100.
——, Red-throated, 101.
, Richard’s, 106.
—., Rock, 103.

——, Tawny, 105.
——, Tree, 99.

, Water, 102. :
Plover, Golden, 207.

, Green, 210.

—, Grey, 208.

, Kentish, 209.

, Little ringed, 206.
——,, Ringed, 205,
Pochard, 350. .

——., Nyroca, 352.
Puffin, 293.

Quail, 188,

Rail, Land, 189, 368.
-—-, Waiter, 193.
Raven, 146.
Razor-bill, 288.
Redbreast, 52.

Redpoll, Lesser, 134, 869.

377

378 INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES.

Redpoll, Mealy, 133.
Redshank, Common, 248.
——, Spotted, 245.
Redstart, 54, 369.

——, Black, 55.
Redwing, 46, 372.
Ringtail, 23.

Roller, 169, 368.

Rook, 151.

Ruff, 236.

Sanderling, 235.

Sandpiper, Bartram’s, 238.

——, Bonaparte’s, 229.
——,, Broad-billed, 227.
—— ., Buff-breasted, 235.
——, Common, 239.
—, Curlew, 282,
—,, Green, 241.

——., Pectoral, 228,
——,, Purple, 233.
—, Schinz, 229.
——, Spotted, 240.
——, Wood, 242,
Scoter, Common, 360.
——, Velvet, 361.
Serin, 129.

Shag, 306.

Shearwater, Manx, 283.
—, Sooty, 282.
Shoveler, 344.

Shrike, Great Grey, 36,
——,, Red-backed, 38.
——, Woodchat, 39.
Siskin, 182, 369.

Skua, Arctic, 279.
——,, Butfon’s, 280.
——, Great, 275,

——, Long-tailed, 280.
——, Pomatorhine, 277.
—, Richardso ’s, 279.
Smew, 364, 372.

Snipe, Common, 224.
——, Great, 222, 368.

Snipe, Jack, 226.

—., Sabine’s, 225.
——, Solitary, 223.
Spoonbill, White, 326.
Starling, 142.

— ., Red-winged, 141.
——., Rose-coloured, 143,
Stilt, Black-winged, 215,
Stint, Little, 230,

—,, Temminck’s, 231.
Stonechat, 57.

Stork, White, 322.
Swallow, 158, 370.
Swan, Bewick’s, 337,
——, Mute, 338.

—,, Whistling, 334.
Swift, 162, 371.

——., Alpine, 163,

Teal, 347,

——, Summer, 348,
Tern, Arctic, 259.
-—, Black, 252.
——, Common, 257,
——, Gull-billed, 254,
——., Lesser, 260.
——, Roseate, 257.
——, Sandwich, 256.
—-, White-winged Black, 253,
Thrush, Black-throated, 47.
» Mistletoe, 44.
——, Song, 45.
Titmouse, Bearded, 90,
——,, Blue, 86.

—, Coal, 87.

——, Great, 85.

——, Long-tailed, 89.
——, Marsh, 88.
Tree-Sparrow, 125.
Turnstone, 211,

Twite, 135,

Wagtail, Blue-headed, 96,
—, Grey, 95.

INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES. 379

Wagtail, Pied, 92.
—, Ray’s, 97.
—, White, 93.
——., Yellow, 97.
Warbler, Aquatic, 67.
—, Dartford, 69.
——,, Garden, 72.
—, Grasshopper, 68,
——., Great Reed, 64.
——, Orphean, 74,
—-, Reed, 65.

—, Rufous, 63.
—, Sedge, 66.
Waxwing, 91, 369,
Wheatear, 58.
Whimbrel, 251,
Whinchat, 57,

Whitethroat, Common, 70.
——,, Lesser, 71,
Whooper, 384,

Wigeon, 349.

Willow Wren, 76.
Woodchat, 39.

Woodcock, 219, 372.
Woodpecker, Greater Spotted, 174.
—, Green, 173,

——, Lesser Spotted, 174,
Wren, 79.

——, Fire-crested, 77.
——,, Golden-crested, 76.
——, Wood, 74.

Wryneck, 175.

Yellow-hammer, 119.

SCIENTIFIC INDEX. .

Accentor collaris, 50.
—— modularis, 51.
Accipiter nisus, 18.
Acredula caudata, 89.

Acrocephalus arundinaceus, 64,

neevius, 68.

—— schcenobeenus, 66.
streperus, 65,
Aedon galactodes, 63.
ARgialitis cantiana, 207.
~— curonica, 206,

—— hiaticula, 205.
Agelzus pheniceus, 141.
Alauda arborea, 110.
—— arvensis, 109.

—— brachydactyla, 112.
cristata, 111.

Alca torda, 288.

Alcedo ispida, 171.
Aluco flammeus, 34.
Ampelis garrulus, 91.
Anas boscas, 343.

—— strepera, 344.
Anser albifrons, 329.
brachyrhynchus, 331.
—— cinereus, 328,

—— segetum, 330.
Anthus campestris, 105,
—— cervinus, 101.

—— obscurus, 103.

—— pratensis, 100.

—— richardi, 106.

Anthus spipoletta, 102.
—— trivialis, 98.
Ardea cinerea, 309.
—— purpurea, 314. .
—— ralloides, 315. -
Ardetta minuta, 318.
Asio accipitrinus, 30.
—— otus, 29.

Bartramia longicauda, 238.
Bernicla brenta, 333.

—— leucopsis, 332.
Botaurus lentiginosus, 321.
—— stellaris, 319.

Bubo ignavus, 31.

Buteo lagopus, 18.

—— vulgaris, 16.

Caccabis rufa, 187.
Calidris arenaria, 235.
Caprimulgus europzus, 164,
—— egyptius, 166.

—— ruficollis, 166,
Carduelis elegans, 130.
—— spinus, 182.

Carine noctua, 33.
Certhia familiaris, 81.
Charadrius pluvialis, 207.
Chelidon urbica, 160,
Ciconia alba, 322.

Cinclus aquaticus, 48,
Circus seruginosus, 21,

SCIENTIFIC INDEX. 381

Circus cinereus, 25,
cyaneus, 22.
Clangula glaucion, 355.
Coccothraustes chloris, 128.
—— vulgaris, 126.
Columba cenas, 177.
— livia, 178.

—— palumbus, 176.
Colymbus arcticus, 296.
— glacialis, 294.

—— septentrionalis, 297.
Coracias garrulus, 169.
Corvus corax, 146.

— cornix, 148,

—— corone, 150.

—— frugilegus, 151.
—— monedula, 153.
Cotile riparia, 161.
Coturnix communis, 188,
Crex pratensis, 189.
Cuculus canorus, 166.
Cygnus bewicki, 337.
musicus, 334,

—— olor, 338.

Cynochorea leucorrhoa, 284.

Cypselus apus, 162.
—— melba, 163,

Dafila acuta, 346.
Daulias luscinia, 53.
Dendrocopus major, 174.
—— minor, 174,

Emberiza cirlus, 119.

— citrinella, 119.

—— hortulana, 120.

—— miliaria, 118.

—— pusilla, 117.

— rustica, 117.

—— scheeniclus, 116.
Erithacus rubecula, 52.
Eudromias morinellus, 203.

Euspiza melanocephala, 121.

Faleo esalon, 11.

— candicans, 6.

—— gyrfalco, 5.

—— peregrinus, 7.

—— subbuteo, 9.

—— tinnunculus, 12.
— vespertinus, 10.

Fratercula arctica, 293.

Fringilla cvelebs, 122.
— montifringilla, 123.

Fulica atra, 196.

Fuligula cristata, 354.

—— ferina, 350.

—— marila, 355.

—— nyroca, 352.

Fulmarus glacialis, 281.

Gallinago ccelestis, 224.
—— gallinula, 226.
—— major, 222.
Gallinula chloropus, 194.
Garrulus glandarius, 155.
Gecinus viridis, 173.
Grus communis, 197.

Heematopus ostralegus, 212,
Halizetus albicilla, 1.

Hfarelda glacialis, 357.
Himantopus candidus, 215.
Hirundo rustica, 158,
Hydrochelidon leucoptera, 25:3.
nigra, 252.

Tynx torquilla, 175.

Lanius auriculatus, 39.
— collurio, 38.
excubitor, 36.
Larus argentatus, 267.
atricilla, 265.
—— canus, 266. _
—— capistratus, 265.

. -—— fuscus, 268.

—— glaucus, 270.

382 SCIENTIFIC INDEX.

Larus leucopterus, 272.
—— marinus, 269.

—— minutus, 262.

—— philadelphia, 262.
—— ridibundus, 264,
-—— rhodostethia, 266.
Limicola platyrhyncha, 227.
Limosa eegocephala, 247.
lapponica, 248.
Linota cannabina, 134,
—— flavirostris, 135.
~— linaria, 133.

——- rufescens, 134,
Loxia curvirostra, 189.
—— pityopsittacus, 140.

Machetes pugnax, 236.
Mareca penelope, 349.
Melanocorypha sibirica, 113.
Melizophilus undatus, 69.
Mergulus alle, 292,
Mergus albellus, 364.
merganser, 362,
—— serrator, 363.
Merops apiaster, 170.
Milvus ictinus, 14.
Motacilla alba, 93.

—— flava, 96.

lugubris, 92.

—— raii, 97.

— sulphurea, 95.
Muscicapa atricapilla, 41.
-— prisola, 39.

Nucifraga caryocatactes, 156.

Numenius arquata, 249,
—— phxopus, 251.
Nycticorax griseus, 317.

Oceanites oceanica, 287,
Cidemia fusca, 361.

—— nigra, 860.
Cidicnemus scolopax, 202,
Oriolus galbula, 42.

Otis tarda, 199.
—— tetrax, 201.
Otocorys alpestris, 107,

Pagophila eburnea, 274.
Pandion halizetus, 3.
Panurus biarmicus, 90.
Parus ater, 87.

--— ceeruleus, 86,

—— major, 85.

—— palustris, 88.
Passer domesticus, 125.
—— montanus, 125.
Pastor roseus, 143.

Perdix cinerea, 186.
Pernis apivorus, 19,
Phalacrocorax carbo, 804.
graculus, 306.
Phalaropus fulicarius, 217,
—— hyperboreus, 218.
Phasianus colchicits, 188.
Phylloscopus collybita, 76.
sibilatrix, 74.

—— trochilus, 75,

Pica rustica, 153.

Platalea leucorodia, 326.
Plectrophanes lapponica, 115,
—— nivalis, 114,
Plegadis falcinellus, 324,
Podiceps auritus, 300.
—— cristatus, 297.

—— fluviatilis, 302.

—— griseigena, 298.
—— nigricollis, 391.
Porzana bailloni, 192.
—— maruetta, 190.

—-~ parva, 191.
Procellaria pelagica, 286,
Puffinus anglorum, 283.
—— griseus, 282.
Pyrrhocorax graculus, 144,
Pyrrbula enucleator, 188.
—— erythrina, 187,

—— europaea, 136,

SCIENTIFIC INDEX.

Querquedula circia, 348.
— crecca, 347,

Rallus aquaticus, 193.
Recurvirostra avocetta, 213.
Regulus cristatus, 76.

— ignicapillus, 77.

Rissa tridactyla, 273.
Ruticilla phoenicurus, 54.
—— suecica, 54.

— titys, 55.

Saxicola cenanthe, 58.
—— rubicola, 57.
Scolopax ccelestis, 224. |
—— gallinula, 226.

—— rusticula, 219.

Scops giu, 32.

Serinus hortulanus, 129.
Sitta ceesia, 82.
Somateria mollissima, 358.
Spatula clypeata, 344.
Squatarola helvetica, 208.

Stercorarius catarrhactes, 275.

crepidatus, 279,
—— parasiticus, 280,
— pomatorhinus, 277.
Sterna anglica, 254,
—— cautiaca, 256.
—— dougalli, 257.
—— fluviatilis, 257.
—— macrura, 259.
minuta, 260.
Strepsilas interpres, 211.
Strix aluco, 27.

Sturnus vulgaris, 142.
Sula bassana, 307.
Sylvia aquatica, 67.
—— atricapilla, 78.
—— curruca, 71.

—— orphea, 74,

Sylvia rufa, 70.
—— salicaria, 72.
Syrrhaptes paradoxus, 180.

Tadorna casarca, 342.
—— cornuta, 340.
Tetrao tetrax, 181.
Totanus calidris, 243.
—— canescens, 246,
—— fuscus, 245.

—— glareola, 242.
—— hypoleucus, 239.
—— macularius, 240.
ochropus, 241.
Tringa alpina, 229.
—— canutus, 233.
—— fuscicollis, 229.
—— minuta, 230.
—— maculata, 228.
—— striata, 233.
subarquata, 232,
temmincki, 231.
Troglodytes parvulus, 79.
Tryngites rufescens, 237.
Turdus atrogularis, 47,
iliacus, 46.

—— merula, 48.
musicus, 45.
—— pilaris, 46.

—— torquatus, 43.
viscivorus, 44.
Turtur communis, 179.

Upupa epops, 168.
Uria grylle, 291.

—— troile, 289.
Vanellus vulgaris, 210,

Xema sabini, 261.

383

POPULAR NAMES USED IN SUSSEX,

Barley Bird, 98.
Barley-ear, 58.
Bar Gander, 340.
Bier Gander, 340,
Billy Biter, 86.
Blackcock, 181.
Black Duck, 360.
Broadbill, 344.
Burrow Duck, 340.
Bush Magpie, 154.
Butcher Bird, 36.

Cheveril, 131.

Chevil, 181.

Clod Bird, 119.

Cob, 287.

Corn Bunting (Bunting), 119.

Coulterneb, 293.

Cuckoo’s Mate, 175.

Curlew, Pigmy (Curlew Sandpiper),
352.

Dabchick, 302.
Dish-washer, 93.

Evejar (Nightjar), 164.
Fanner, 13.

Feather-poke, 88.
Felt, Pigeon Felt, 47.

Fern Owl, 155.
Five-tail (Redstart), 54.
Furzechat, 58.

Glead, 15.
Goatsucker, 155.
Grey Bird, 46.

Grey Hen, 181. +
Grey Partridge, 188.
Greypate, 181,
Ground Tit, 88.

Hedgepick, 51.
Holm Thrush, 144.

Isle of Wight Parson, 304.

Jackdaw, 153,

Jack hern (Common Heron), 509.

Magpie Diver, 256.
Mole-Diver, 302,

Mother Carey’s Chicken, 28,
Mountain Linnet, 135

Nettlecreeper, 71.
Night-Hawk (Nightjar), 164.

Olive, 212.
Oven Bird, 74,

POPULAR NAMES USED IN SUSSEX. 885

Oxbird, 229,
Oxeye (Great Tit), 86

Peel Bird, 175.
Purre, 229,
Puttock, 17.

Rain Bird, 173.
Redlegs, 243.
Red-legged Crow, 145.
Reed Sparrow, 117.
Reeve, 237,

Rinding Bird, 175.
Robin, 52.

Scarlet Bullfinch, 137,
Scart, 306.

Screech, 44.

Sea-pie, 212.

Sea Swallow, 257, 259.

Shufflewing, 51.
Singing Titlark, 99.

Snake Bird, 176.
Spear Duck, 363.
Spoonbill Duck, 344.
Stonechucker, 58.
Stone Redpoll, 133.
Storm Cock, 44.
Summer Snipe, 239.

Tinkershere, 288.
Titterel, 251.
Titlark, 100.

Vine Bird (Flycatcher), 39.

Wagell, 257.
Wagtail, 231-239.
Willock, 288.
Windfanner, 13.
Windhover Hawk, 13.

Yaffil, 178,

Printed by Tayo and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street.

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

1-9 +

Apttn, O. V., Esq.

Batston, R. J., Esa.

Barctay, CoLone, Hansury.

Barrzineton, R. M., Esa.

Barzs, B., Esa.

Barut, Gent. Sin Henry pe,
Bart.

Brat, Mr. G. (2 copies.)

Brpptz, F. W., Esa.

Brpvuteu, Cart. 8. F.

Brpwe 1, E., Ese.

Brarezy, F. H., Ese.

Buiaavuw, T. S. L., Ese.

Borner, D., Esq. (2 copies.)

Borzer, L., Esq.

Borrer, Masor.

Bourse, Cart.

Bow ess, A. H., Ese.

Braysrooxe, THe Lorp.

Bricuton anv Sussex Natv-
RAL History anp Puito-
SOPHICAL SocierTy.

BristowsE AnD Sons, Mzssrs.

Browetu, W. F., Esq.

Brown, J. A. Harvie, Esq.,
F.ZS8.

Bucxton, G. B., Esq., F.R.S.
Bunsory, H. J., Esa.
Bureoyne, F., Esa.
Burret, Sir C. R., Barr.
Carneciz, Tor Honste. J. J.
CHANDLER, Ruy. J. B., M.A.
Cuapman, T. H., Esa.
Cranxg, 8S. R., Esa.
Currton, Tae Lorp.
Corus, C. E., Esa.
Compton, T., Esa.
CorpEavx, J., Esq.
Covrrnort, G. C., Esa.
Cros¥FIEexp, J. B., Esq.
Crow ey, P., Esq., F.Z.S.
Dawes, C. W., Esa.
Dawes, W., Ese.
Denman, Tot Howse. Mr.
JUSTICE.
Dicxins, C. R. Scrasz, Esa.
Dove.as & Fouris, Messrs,
Dowssrt, A., Esa.
Dresser, H. E., Esa.
Dutav & Co., Messrs. (6
copies.)
Eaton, Rev. W. F., M.A.

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

Eemont, Tue Ear or.

Enuicr, E. C., Ese.

Exuiott, E. A., Esa.

Ewine, Rev. J. A., M.A.

Fietcuer, W. H. B., Esa.

Fowxer, W.:-Warpg, Esa.

Fresxrietp, H. R., Esa.

Gawen, C. R., Esa.

Gopman, C. B., Esq.

Gopmay, F. D., Esq., F.R.S.

Gopman, P. 8., Esq., B.A.

Goocn, Rev. F. Harcourt,
M.A.

Gorine, Rev. J. (5 copies.)

Grattan, Mr. H. H. G.

GrirritH, A. F., Esq.

Grirritn, H., Esa.

Gurnuy & Jackson, Messrs.
(6 copies.)

Haines, J. P. Witton, Esa.

Hatt, J. E., Esq. (5 copies.)

Hart, E., Esq., F.Z.S.

Haartine, J. E., Ese.

Hartcuarps anp Co., Mzssrs.
(18 copies.)

Hawgsuaw, J. Ciarxe, Esq.

Hessert, C.T., Esq.

Heme, Rev. R., M.A.

Honeson, J. 8., Esa.

Horzianp, Rev. C., M.A. (2
copies.)

Hotanp, Miss E. M.

Horr, T., Ese.

Horer, J. D., Esa.

Horr, R, Esa.

Hors, T. L., Esa.

Hopkins, Rev. F., M.A.

Howarp pE WatLpEN, THE
Dowager Lapy.

Howapp, R. J., Esq.

Howe tt, Mr. E.

Houszarp, W. E., Esa.

Horst, R. H., Esq.

Hussey, E., Ese.

Ineram, Cou. R. B.

Irpy, Lievt.-Cor. L. H.

Jewnines, C. E., Esa.

Jounsrone, J. E., Esa.

KwatcHsutt - HucEssen,
Rev. R. B., M.A.

Lanz, H. C., Esa.

Lanerton, H., Esa.

Lams, Sir Arcurpaxp, Bart,

Lawson, G., Esq., C.B.

LeconFiELp, THE Lorp.

Less, E. B., Ese.

Litrorp, Tae Lorp. (2
copies.)

Lister, J. J., Esa.

‘ Lovepay, Miss. (2 copies.)

Lucas, C. J., Ese.

Lyon, Lt.-Cot. F. H.

Lyon, Mrs. WituiaM.

McKewziz, H. W., Esa. (2
copies.)

Macxenzig, K. M., Esa.

Macruerson, A. H., Esa.

Macpuerson, Rev. H. A.,
M.A.

Marczsson, Miss E.

Marcesson, Miss H.

Marsuatt, W., Ese.

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

Massey, H., Esa.

Maruew, Rev. Murray A.,
M.A.

Meavr-Watpo, E. G., Esa.

Mercatrs, J. §., Esq.

Mier, E., Esa.

Moserty, Mrs.

Moutnevx, G., Esq.

Morais, H., Esa.

Muttens, W. H., Esa.

Morcurson, K. R., Esa., J.P.

Newton, Atrrep, Esa.,
F.R.S.

Nicuotson, F., Esq.

Noe, E., Esq.

Norrotk, Tue Dvxet or,

E.M., K.G.
Norrasrook, Tue Ear of.
Octz, B. S., Esq.
Orrer, Mrs. F. W.
Parker, Capt.

TowNLey.
Parkin, J. S., Esq.
Parkin, T., Esq. (6 copies.)
Parrerson, R. Luoyp, Esq.
Parreson, Mrs. Cantos.
Prcuett, A., Ese.

Penney, 8S. R., Ese.
Pipstey, W. E. H., Esa.
Prxez,T. M., Esq.,M.A.,F.Z.S.
Pirts, Rosert F., Esq.
Pocuin, H. E., Ese.
Porter, Mr. R. H.

copies.)

Powies, Rev. R. Cow ey,

M.A.

Roserr

(25

Pyrxet, D., Esq., Jun.

Ricr, Rev. J. M., M.A.

RicuMonp anv Gorpon, THE
Duxz or, K.G. (2 copies.)

Riprovt, Rev. G. A., M.A.

Rice, A. H., Ese. (2 copies.)

Rosinson, W., Ese.

Rorsr, F. E. 8., Esq., F.Z.8.

Savin, Ospert, Esq., F.R.S.

Saunpers, Howarp, Esq.

Sawyer, F. E., Ese.

Szezoum, H., Esa.

Sairrver, Sir Geores, Barr.

Simmons, C. A., Ese.

Simpxin, Marsuati, Hamit-
ton, Kent & Co., Limirep.
(25 copies.)

Situ & Son, Messrs. W. H.
(13 copies.)

Sorrewz, Mr. T.

Sorneran, Messrs. H. & Co.
(3 copies.)

Stonuam, C., Esa.

STREATFIELD, R. J., Esq.

Swainson, Rev. A. J., M.A.

Tatzot, J.G., Esq., M.P.

Tuompson, J., Esq.

Tuorsurn, A., Esq.

TreacuEr, Messrs. H. & G.
(2 copies.)

Tyacke, N., Esq@., M.D.

Upton, Mrs.

VERNER, Capt. W., R.B.

Warren, R. A., Esa.

Wenn, G., Ese.

Werxss, A., Esa.

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

Westry & Son, Messrs. W.
(2 copies.) —

West, H. T., Ese.

Wuexrpon, Mr. J. (2
copies.)

Wairaxker, J., Esa., F.Z.8.

Wuitre.p, G., Ese.

Wairraker & WILLIAMS,
MEssrs.

Wurmrrs, C., Esa.
Witsey, J. E., Esa.
Witson, Rev. H., M.A.
Wispen, Lr.-Cot.
Wircoms, H., Esa.
Wynpuam, Tue Honste. P.
Young, J., Esa.

: ZootoeicaL Society oF

Lonpon.

Smet
Ce hang

heey S|
ee
a
re SS
ener

perce
erent

ec ie
Suey a

eR

etae

ae

epee
teas

open ioe

c

(eng
ne

sea

aS
ae

ab
tier
ast

“=>
e

os:

na

a