BIOLOGY

LIBRARY

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ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

LONDON:
Edward Newman, Printer, 9, Devonshire Street, Bishopsgate.

inme^. by nvuraianjle] &V«aiion.
HERON ALIGHTING- ON ITS NEST. fa-gt, 27

ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES

IN

SUSSEX;

WITH

A SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE

OF

THE BIRDS OF THAT COUNTY,

AND

REMARKS ON THEIR LOCAL DISTRIBUTION.

BY A. E. KNOX, M.A., F.L.S., F.Z.S.

LONDON:

JOHN VAN VOORST, PATERNOSTER ROW.
M.DCCC.XLIX.

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LIBRARY.
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PREFACE.

THE following letters were originally addressed
to a friend, residing beyond the Tweed, and owe
their appearance in a collected form to a subse-
quent suggestion that they might become a
popular contribution to the Fauna of Sussex,
possessing some attractions for the sportsman as
well as the ornithologist.

The author cannot, however, conceal from him-
self, that having on the present occasion limited
the sphere of his observations to a single county,
it would be vain and presumptuous of him to
expect that they should prove as interesting to
the general reader as to those who, from local
circumstances, might be supposed to feel some-
what of an enduring interest in such records, or
as to an old and intimate friend, in whom " auld

817806

iv PREFACE.

lang syne " and congeniality of tastes had ensured
a ready listener.

But to take a wider view of the subject. It
will be admitted that the geographical position
of Sussex, as a southern maritime county, with
its long line of sea-coast, is favourable for obser-
vations on the migratory birds, while the remark-
able variety of soil and scenery contained within
its limits appears to have a considerable influence
on the local distribution of many species ; but
without indulging in speculative theories, or at-
tempting to follow up the various links in the
chain, geological, botanical, and entomological,
the author still ventures to hope that he has been
able to throw some little light on these matters ;
— that a few sparks may be struck from the fol-
lowing pages, which hereafter in abler hands
may be fanned into a flame, and more fully eluci-
date this mysterious and interesting subject.

With regard to himself, he may perhaps be
allowed to say, that an ardent love of Nature has
throughout life been his ruling passion, and the

PREFACE. V

study of her works his greatest delight ; while a
residence of many years on the coast, as well as
in the interior, of Sussex, has afforded him ad-
vantages which do not fall to the lot of every
local observer.

The illustrations are taken from drawings made
on the spot by the author. The " Heron alight-
ing on its Nest," as depicted in the Frontispiece,
was sketched by him while concealed among the
upper branches of an adjoining tree, under the
circumstances narrated at page 27, and is a faith-
ful representation of the attitude of the bird at
that moment.

Although from the desultory nature of these
papers he has sometimes thrown off the restraint
which a rigid adherence to systematic order
might have imposed upon him, yet with the view
of imparting to the work a more scientific charac-
ter than it would otherwise possess, and at the
same time increasing its utility for purposes of
reference and comparison, the arrangement ob-
served by Mr. Yarrell in his admirable work on

VI PREFACE.

British Birds, and the nomenclature adopted by
that distinguished zoologist, have been adhered to
in the Catalogue, as appearing to possess in the
highest degree the advantages of correctness and
simplicity.

That this little volume may tend to awaken a
taste for similar pursuits in some who have hi-
therto passed unobservant along the shores and
through the woods of this interesting county, and
perhaps serve to assist in the diffusion of those
humane and enlightened views so ably advocated
by Mr. Waterton in his 'Essays on Natural
History,' is the sincere wish of

THE AUTHOR.

ILLUSTRATIONS.
HERON ALIGHTING ON ITS NEST. Frontispiece,

THE OSPREY — RUINS OF AMBEBLEY CASTLE.

To face page 47.

BEACHY HEAD IN THE BREEDING-SEASON.

To face page 107.

THE RAVEN'S CLUMP, PETWORTH PARK.

To face page 155.

ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES, &c.

LETTER I.— INTRODUCTORY.

Early Influences and Recollections — Sussex — Sketch of
the County — The Weald — Its Character and gene-
ral Aspect — Sandstone Formation — Picturesque
Scenery — The South Downs — Maritime Tract —
Chichester Harbour — Selsey Bill — Pagham — Un-
frequented District — Hard Weather — Wild -Fowl
Shooting — Coast to the eastward of Brighton —
Chalk Cliffs— Beachy Head— Pevensey Bay— Wil-
derness of Shingle — An Oasis in a Desert — Princi-
pal Rivers in Sussex.

MY DEAR E.

I have great pleasure in complying with your
request ; the very idea recalls the memory of old-
en time ; already am I carried back in imagina-
tion to those scenes where, besides the instruction
exclusively derived from Alma mater, we took
lessons in practical Ornithology under the aus-
pices of dame Nature herself. Again, as in by-
gone days, are we wandering together over the

2 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

swampy flats of Port Meadow, or exploring the
sedgy banks of the Isis near Sandford Lasher, al-
most forgetting our hastily -moored skiffs in a pro-
longed search after the nest of the water-hen, or
the airy fabric of the reed-warbler. Once more
are we seated beneath the old rook-trees in Christ
Church meadow, arid congratulating the dark pro-
prietors of the village overhead that their fortu-
nate settlement is within the protective influence
of academic laws. I have a lively recollection,
too, of our delightful correspondence, when, in
return for my rough notes from the west of Ire-
land, I received such an interesting account of
your neighbourhood. But, to turn from retrospect
to reality, I rejoice to think that our intercourse
has only been interrupted, not annihilated, by the
lapse of years.

You are quite correct in supposing that my pre-
dilection for my old pursuits is as strong as ever.
It is true that I no longer listen to the roar of the
Atlantic, as when I used to indite ornithological
epistles to you from the wilds of Erris, but the
influence of early habits has survived every vicis-
situde of time and place.

The eagle and the grouse, indeed, are gone;
and to the dark, misty mountains, and rock-bound
coast of Mayo, have succeeded the bright Downs,
the wooded valleys, and the smiling shores of

RECOLLECTIONS. 3

Sussex. It is true that such countless myriads of
water-birds are not found here during the summer
months as at Down Patrick-Head,* or on the
Stags of Broadhaven,f but certain members of the
great natatorial division are met with during the
breeding-season on different parts of the coast be-
tween Brighton and Hastings, and several of the
rarer species occur during the winter, occasionally
indeed in such numbers as to furnish ample occu-
pation, and many a valuable acquisition, to the
sportsman and to the collector.

But although Sussex cannot pretend to vie with
the distant shores of the Sister Island, or the
north of Scotland, in the number of hyperborean
visitors, there is perhaps no portion of the United
Kingdom that contains a greater variety of the
summer birds of passage. A glance at the map
will suffice to show you that our proximity to the
continent, and the long line of shore from Kent to
Hampshire, are favourable to an immigration of
those feathered tribes, which, having passed the
winter in the olive groves of Spain, or on the

* A lofty, isolated rock, near the mainland, on the pre-
cipitous coast of Mayo. A regular Babel of sea-birds dur-
ing the month of May.

f A cluster of small islands outside the natural haven of
the same name.

B2

4 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

sunny plains of Africa, once more, when

" Solvitur acris hyems grata vice veris et Favoni,"

turn their faces to their native land, and revisit
the green hedgerows and peaceful valleys of Eng-
land: but you can hardly be prepared to take such
an interest as I would fain inspire you with, in
certain ornithological details to be recorded here-
after, unless you have previously some idea of the
more prominent geographical divisions of Sussex,
the general aspect, and the local scenery of each.
I propose, therefore, to devote the remainder of
this letter to such an introductory sketch as may
in some degree tend to supply the deficiency.

Sussex, one of the southern maritime counties
of England, is about seventy-six miles in length,
and nearly thirty in its average breadth. The
weald, the limits of which have been restricted
by some geologists to a portion of the eastern di-
vision, may, in a more popular sense, be said to
constitute the great clay valley stretching along
the entire county — including the primaeval forest of
Anderida — commencing near Harting Combe, on
the borders of Hampshire, and gradually increas-
ing in breadth as it advances in a south-easterly
direction towards the county of Kent. Its
appearance is that of a generally flat, but occa-

SUSSEX — SKETCH OF THE COUNTY. 5

sionally undulating, district, overgrown with brush-
wood and masses of trees, among which the oak
predominates in a remarkable degree, varied with
patches of cultivated land, which, during the
course of years, have been reclaimed from the sur-
rounding forest.

To the south of this tract the country rises
into considerable eminences, of great picturesque
beauty, and even romantic character, where their
northern escarpment, which is abrupt, sudden,
and densely wooded, dips into the valley of the
weald.

Still further to the south, a wide belt of sand
intervenes between this and the Downs, and like
all the geological formations contained within the
county, appears to cross it diagonally from north-
west to south-east. Indeed, the great variety in
the character arid scenery of these districts is very
remarkable, and cannot fail, especially in the
western division, to have struck the most unob-
servant traveller from the metropolis to the coast,
by way of Petworth, Midhurst, or Arundel.

As he travels southward from the Surrey hills,
he sees stretched beneath him the wide and
densely-wooded valley of the weald, a region of
stiff clay and forests of oak, extending through
the entire county. After traversing this district,
where he would be more inclined to fancy himself

6 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

in the heart of Germany than within forty miles
of London, he reaches a more elevated country,
where highly- cultivated farms and an occasional
elm tree denote the presence of a richer soil ; and
this is again succeeded by a wide tract of ferrugi-
nous sand, assuming the most striking forms of
hill and valley, or spreading into open heaths.
Nothing can exceed the picturesque beauty of
certain portions of this district ; eminences cloth-
ed with heather and gorse, and crowned with
Scotch fir and holly, enclose valleys intersected
by clear running brooks, whose course, here rapid
and noisy, rushes over rocks and ridges of sand-
stone ; there, taking a sudden turn, and stealing
away in a deep and silent current, half undermines
the overhanging banks, ungratefully exposing the
gnarled roots of the old oak trees, that seem to
stretch their branches in a protecting attitude over
the stream ; altogether strongly reminding one of
those delicious bits of sylvan scenery which are
scattered, with such a lavish hand, through the
magic pages of Bewick.

Then come the Downs, the famous South
Downs, which White of Selborne was wont to call
"a magnificent chain of mountains," stretching
across the county in a south-easterly direction,
until they reach the sea in the neighbourhood of

MARITIME TRACT. 7

Brighton, and form a precipitous coast from
Kemp-town as far as Beachy Head.

But to the ornithologist, perhaps, the most in-
teresting district is the flat, maritime tract which
lies between the Downs and the sea, and extends
from Brighton to the westward, as far as Chiches-
ter harbour, where it reaches its extreme breadth ;
and here, long winding creeks and estuaries,
flanked by wooded promontories, and studded
with swampy islands, sheltered from the storms to
which the higher grounds are exposed, afford a
welcome retreat to our feathered visitors during
the inclement season of the year. The conside-
rable peninsula which extends to the south-west of
Bognor, terminating in the headland of Selsey
Bill, is perhaps as little known to the world as any
portion of Great Britain, lying, as it does, far to
the south of the more frequented highways ; but it
comprises a great extent of sea-coast, dotted here
and there with patches of brushwood and rough
copses of stunted oak — tempting places of rest to
our vernal migratory birds on their first arrival
from the continent — and also includes within its
limits a wide -spreading inlet of the sea, known as
Pagham harbour, which might almost be termed a
great salt lake ; for the entrance to the haven is so
narrow and shallow, and the channel within so

8 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

tortuous and uncertain, that none but small ves-
sels of trifling tonnage can attempt a passage;
and even of these the number and the arrivals are
so few and far between, that they only arrest the
attention of the observer as they cautiously thread
their difficult way to deposit or receive a cargo of
coals or corn at the hamlet of Siddlesham, which
is seen rising, like a little Dutch village, from the
flat shores in the distance.

Here, in the dead long summer days, when not
a breath of air has been stirring, have I frequently
remained for hours, stretched on the hot shingle,
and gazed at the osprey as he soared aloft, or
watched the little islands of mud at the turn of the
tide, as each gradually rose from the receding
waters, and was successively taken possession of
by flocks of sandpipers and ring-dotterels, after
various circumvolutions on the part of each de-
tachment, now simultaneously presenting their
snowy breasts to the sunshine, now suddenly turn-
ing their dusky backs, so that the dazzled eye
lost sight of them from the contrast ; while the
prolonged cry of the titterel,* and the melancholy
note of the peewit from the distant swamp, have

* The provincial name for the whimbrel. The word
titterel frequently repeated by a female voice (in alt.)
would nearly resemble the cry of this bird.

PAGHAM.

mingled with the scream of the tern and the
taunting laugh of the gull.

Here have I watched the oyster-catcher, as he
flew from point to point, and cautiously waded
into the shallow water ; and the patient heron, that
pattern of a fisherman, as with retracted neck, and
eyes fixed on vacancy, he has stood for hours
without a single snap, motionless as a statue.
Here, too, have I pursued the guillemot, or craf-
tily endeavoured to cut off the retreat of the diver,
by mooring my boat across the narrow passage
through which alone he could return to the open
sea without having recourse to his reluctant wings.
Nor can I forget how often, during the Siberian
winter of 1838, when "a whole gale," as the sailors
have it, has been blowing from the north-east, I
used to take up my position on the long and nar-
row ridge of shingle which separated this paradise
from the raging waves without, and sheltered be-
hind a hillock of sea-weed, with my long duck-gun
and a trusty double, or half buried in a hole in
the sand, I used to watch the legions of water-
birds as they neared the shore, and dropped dis-
trustfully among the breakers, at a distance from
the desired haven, until, gaining confidence from
accession of numbers, some of the bolder spirks —
the pioneers of the army — would flap their wings,
rise from the white waves, and make for the calm

B 5

10 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

water. Here they come ! Already is the pied
golden -eye pre-eminent among the advancing
party ; now the pochard, with his copper-coloured
head and neck, may be distinguished from the
darker scaup-duck ; already the finger is on the
trigger, when, perhaps, they suddenly verge to the
right and left, far beyond the reach of my longest
barrel, or, it may be, come swishing overhead,
and leave a companion or two struggling on the
shingle or floating on the shallow waters of the
harbour.

But my recollections of this favoured spot have
induced me to dwell too long on its attractions.
I shall have occasion, however, to refer to it here-
after, as a locality where many rare birds have
been obtained.

A long line of chalk cliffs extends to the east-
ward of Brighton as far as Beachy Head, which is
the highest of all, and the country in the neigh-
bourhood of this precipitous coast is hilly arid
treeless, and although partially cultivated, gene-
rally used as sheep-walks ; but its character
changes at the mouths of the rivers, and for many
miles of their previous course, the rich pastures
dotted with horned cattle, and flat arable tract ad-
joining, varied with occasional willow and alder
trees, mark the course of the streams, as they wind

PEVENSEY BAY. 11

through the naked Downs on their way to the
Channel.

After passing the bold promontory of Beachy
Head, the loftiest precipice of which is said to be
upwards of six hundred feet in height — a favourite
breeding-station of guillemots arid razor-bills —
the cliffs rapidly diminish until we reach East-
bourne, where the South Downs appear to termi-
nate, and a wide-spreading bed of shingle forms
the flat, monotonous coast for many miles to the
eastward, in the direction of Bexhill. Here ex-
tend the shores of Pevensey Bay, which were de-
fended, during the war, by a long line of stunted
round towers, that look like wind-mills deprived of
all their upper works. On this wild beach the
ring-dotterel, or stone-runner as it is frequently
termed, deposits three eggs, which can scarcely
be distinguished from the surrounding pebbles,
and many species of terns haunt it in great num-
bers during the summer months. But amid this
barren waste, like an oasis in a desert, a cluster of
green, furze-covered hillocks suddenly appears,
intersected by little fresh -water lakes, whose
swampy banks, clothed with reeds and rushes,
abound, during certain seasons, with many mi-
gratory birds of the grallatorial and natatorial
divisions.

12 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

The principal rivers are the Arun, the Ouse, the
Cuckmere, and the Adur, all flowing into the Bri-
tish Channel.

The Arun rises in the forest of St. Leonard, in
western Sussex, crosses a considerable portion of
the weald, and passes through the Downs between
Bury Hill and Amberley, where, during the rainy
season, it overflows the low meadows in that neigh-
bourhood to the extent of many miles, so as to re-
semble a great lake, and ultimately debouches at
Littlehampton.

The Ouse and the Cuckmere rise in the forest
country, and enter the sea through the Downs to
the eastward of Brighton. The former passes
near Lewes, where it waters the flat, alluvial tract
of Lewes levels, and so on to Newhaven, on the
coast. The latter, still more to the eastward,
passing by Arlington, Alfriston and Littlington,
falls into the sea at Cuckmere haven, to the west-
ward of Beachy Head.

The Adur, which also rises in St. Leonard's
Forest, enters the sea at Shoreham, about six
miles west of Brighton. Although the mouth of
the harbour is narrow, and difficult of access to
large vessels, except at full tide, yet the waters
within expand laterally to a great extent, so as to
form a tolerably commodious haven for steamers,
colliers and fishing-boats, which the vicinity of

BANKS OF THE ADUR. 13

Brighton — to which this place serves as a port —
attracts in considerable numbers ; indeed, the tide
even penetrates so far as to flood many of those
flat grounds, which, lying lower than the sea, run
parallel with it for some miles between Shoreham
and Hove, and are separated from it only by a
high ridge of shingle. Various little pools of wa-
ter are thus formed, which at certain seasons are
haunted by many of the smaller species of wading
and swimming birds, and the river above Shore-
ham, as far as Beeding levels, during the spring
and autumnal months, will generally repay the
patient observer, or the persevering gunner, who
explores its muddy banks, and whose ardour is
not to be chilled by an occasionally fruitless ex-
pedition in search of a rara avis.

14 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

LETTER II.

" Just then, in sign she favoured their intent,
A long-winged heron great Minerva sent,
This, tho' surrounding shades obscured their view,
By the shrill clang and whistling wings they knew."

POPE'S HOMEK.

Parham — Its Situation — A May Morning — Cross-coun-
try Ride — Wild Common — Valley of the Arun —
Amberley Castle — Wild - Fowl Haunts in Olden
Time — Winter Floods — Heronry invaded — Value
of a Spy-gkss — Heron's Nest — Its War-like Occu-
pant — Another Nest — Old Bird feeding its Young
— Rooks versus Herons — The Heron a calumni-
ated Bird — Heron and Water Rat — Winter Quar-
ters— Genealogy of the Parham Heronry.

I QUITE agree with you, that next to the falcons
themselves, the heron — the noblest object of their
pursuit — which in days of yore used to stand at
the head of the British game -list, has the strongest
claim to our protection.

While the ranks of this patrician bird, so long
associated in our ideas with the old English hall
and baronial castle, are gradually disappearing be-

PARHAM. 15

fore the utilitarian improvements of the nineteenth
century, it affords me no small pleasure to record
that western Sussex can still boast of one of the
most interesting heronries in the south of Eng-
land. It is situated at Parham, the seat of the
Honourable Robert Curzon : there is not a more
beautifully wild and forest-like park in the county ;
there, indeed, everything seems imbued with the
spirit of the olden time ; from the ancient hall it-
self, with its huge grate, and walls hung with an-
cestral armour, to the venerable oak trees in the
foreground, and the dark woods of Scotch and
spruce fir which crown the heathery hills in the
distance.

You may remember that in a former letter I al-
luded to the variety and beauty of the scenery in
that belt of country, on the sandstone formation,
which lies to the north of the Downs, between the
latter and the weald, and extends from Rogate, on
the borders of Hampshire, across the whole of
west Sussex. Parham is situated in this tract,
about eight miles, as the crow flies, to the south-
east of Petworth, and the greater portion of the
intervening country is on the same stratum.

I lately made an expedition to this heronry
during the breeding-season, an account of which
may perhaps amuse you. The weather for some
months had been cold, wet, and unseasonable, but

16 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

suddenly changing on the 3rd of May, a bright,
cloudless sky and a warm sun seemed to infuse
new life into nature. The swallows, which ever
since their arrival had only occasionally been
seen, either singly or in small parties, skimming
silently and hurriedly over the wet meadows, as if
to make the most of their time during the brief
intervals of sunshine, now suddenly appeared in
vast numbers ; the very air seemed peopled with
them; the woods and groves rang with the joyful
songs of the summer warblers : the larks mounted
higher and sang louder than before ; and every-
thing, even to the barometer, seemed to exult in
the glorious change. On such a morning I started
on horseback from Petworth to Parham. Instead
of pursuing the highway by Pulborough and Stor-
rington, I turned south, and for two or three miles
my path lay through one of those eccentric coun-
try lanes so well known to wayfarers in this part
of England, and which are not less remarkable for
their beauty than for their total disregard of all
modern principles of road-making ; here climbing
the ridge of a hill, or descending its most abrupt
slope, when either extreme might easily have been
avoided ; there suddenly turning off in an oppo-
site direction to that which it had previously pur-
sued, and again resuming its original course ; and
now eating its tunnel-like way between high,

CROSS-COUNTRY RIDE. 17

sandy banks, where the old trees almost meet
overhead, and exclude even the rays of the mid-
day sun.

It was on emerging from one of these shady
labyrinths that I came suddenly upon an exten-
sive, undulating common, covered with heather
and gorse, the latter of which, now in full bloom,
seemed to blaze like a field of gold. Here, leav-
ing the beaten track, I pursued my way for some
miles over a wild country, pausing every now and
then to admire the beauty of the scenery, or to
observe the birds which frequented it. The stone-
chat, springing up, mounted to the summit of the
nearest furze-bush, and with fluttering wings and
jerking tail, as if to maintain his position on his
thorny perch, saluted me with his harsh note as I
passed by. The cuckoo, whose voice had sounded
so subdued and distant a moment before, fluttered
out of a larch clump close by, skimmed, hawk-
like, across the path, and disappeared over the
brow of the hill. In every little copse where the
dwarf oak and blackthorn had grown together in
wild luxuriance, the nightingale sang vigorously:
but I listened in vain for the note of the grasshop-
per warbler ; it had not yet arrived ; but before
many days its cricket-like chirp will be heard in
these valleys; the fern owl,* too, will ere long
* Or night-jar, Caprimulgus Europaeus.

18 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

appear in these his favourite haunts, arid his mo-
notonous "churr" be prolonged during the still,
summer evenings.

After leaving this wild tract, and striking the
high road between Pulborough and Arundel, the
view that suddenly burst upon me was singularly
beautiful. The great alluvial plain, watered by
the Arun, lay spread beneath. Far to the right,
on the opposite side of the river, were the old
ruins of Amberley Castle, its dark, gray walls
standing in bold relief from the smooth Downs,
which, bounding this side of the picture as far as
the eye could reach, seemed at last to mingle,
cloud-like, with the distant horizon, and the hol-
low valleys that lay between them were filled with
a soft, half transparent mist, the effect of which,
with the summits of the hills bathed in sunshine,
it would be impossible for the pen to describe, and
Copley Fielding alone could depict with the
pencil.

But how different was the appearance of the
intervening plain " sixty years since." Those
wide meadows, clothed with long, rank grass,
where herds of black cattle now lazily chew the
cud, were then covered with dense woods, where
the adventurous sportsman delighted to contend
with the tangled brushwood, and wade, knee-deep,
through the marshy jungles that extended for

MARCH OF AGRICULTURE. 19

miles on either side of the river, affording shelter
and sustenance at all seasons to various tribes of
water-fowl which haunted its recesses. Then
might the booming of the bittern have been heard
during the summer nights ; and many a rare spe-
cies whose occurrence, like the visits of an angel,
can now be recorded only as "few and far be-
tween," was either a constant resident or a regular
visitor to these congenial swamps. But alas ! the
wild character of such scenery, with all its asso-
ciations, is gradually disappearing before the
strides of civilization, while the march of " agri-
cultural improvement" steadily progresses: the
advanced guard, indeed, with the axe and the
plough, long since performed its part, and gave
the first notice to quit to the feathered inhabitants
of the marshes, and the huge army of reserve,
with its mills and steam engines, and red legions
of draining- tiles, will slowly but surely complete
the work of extermination. Nevertheless, during
the winter months the floods still exercise undis-
puted sway, and laugh to scorn the efforts of man
to curb their power ; for the entire plain, as far as
the eye can reach, becomes one vast sheet of
water, frequented, during severe storms, by wild-
fowl and sea-birds, while the dark, pine-crowned
hills of Parham arise like a beautiful island in the
distance.

20 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

After crossing the river by Greatham bridge,
and passing rapidly over the flat, dyke-intersected
plain that lay beyond, where the black-headed
bunting sat perched on the wooden rails, and the
sedge warbler scolded inveterately among the
reeds on either side of the road, I reached the
higher grounds, when, following a dry, sandy track
across a common, and afterwards skirting a plan-
tation of larch trees, whose graceful branches
hung over the path fresh in all the bright verdure
of early May, I at last arrived at Parham, tra-
versed its beautiful park, dismounted from my
horse, and soon afterwards found myself creeping
cautiously through the thick wood of Scotch and
spruce fir in which the heronry is situated, my ob-
ject being to approach so near as, if possible, to
obtain a good view of the birds between the in-
tervals of the trees, before they had become con-
scious of my presence. As I advanced, I could
hear the indescribable half croaking, half hissing
sound uttered by the young birds when in the act
of being fed by the old ones, but a treacherous
stick snapping beneath my foot, all was changed
in an instant, the unfledged inhabitants of the
nests became suddenly mute, and every adult
member of the colony was at once on the wing.
Some ascended into the air to a considerable
height, screaming loudly, others flapped heavily

HERONRY DISTURBED. 21

round the summits of the trees, as if unwilling to
leave the place until they had discovered the
cause of the general alarm ; while a few of the less
timid even resumed their position on the high
boughs. I now raised my glass, and had a capital
view of one splendid fellow as he stood, like a
guardian angel, over his nest, upright as a falcon,
his long, graceful neck extended to the utmost,
and his keen glance directed all around, as if it
could pierce even through the gloom of the dark
wood.

I need not tell you what a valuable assistant a
good spy-glass proves to the practical ornitholo-
gist ; you have often heard me speak of its advan-
tages in former times ; it is indeed my constant
companion ; for although blest with as keen sight
as most of my fellow creatures, and although so
well acquainted with birds as generally to be able
to distinguish a species by the character of its
flight at any reasonable distance, yet in investi-
gating the habits of many of the less accessible
tribes during the breeding-season, in observing
the birds which haunt the summits of the Downs,
or the great congregations of sandpipers and
flocks of wading-birds on the coast, and satisfac-
torily making out, not only the various species,
but even different gradations of plumage in each,
I am deeply indebted to my pocket Dollond ; nor

22 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

shall I be persuaded to dispense with its services
until I become endowed with such a telescopic vi-
sion as is attributed to the bushmen of southern
Africa. It is true that I had but little scope for
its use at this moment — the nests and their occu-
pants being situated among the thick branches of
the evergreen firs — but by its aid I could perceive
that the heron which had attracted my attention
was a very old bird, as indicated by the long crest
and the pure white plumage of the breast and
neck, with which the rows of jet black spots on the
sides of the latter contrasted beautifully.

Being anxious to examine the young birds, I
selected one of the spruce firs, on the summit of
which was a heron's nest, and which appeared to
command a view over many other lower trees im-
mediately adjoining, which were similarly occu-
pied. The only danger — if such it could be
called — was in preserving a firm footing on the
brittle branches near the nest, nor can I say that I
experienced a pleasing sensation when the tall
and narrow stem, already well loaded with the
enormous, wide-spreading fabric at the top, began
to sway to and fro from my additional weight, as I
endeavoured, by walking out on one of the boughs
immediately underneath, to outflank it so far as to
enable me to reach the edge, and while support-
ing myself with one hand, partially explore its

NEST EXPLORED. 23

contents with the other. Having, however, suc-
ceeded in this, I soon felt the decomposing and
flattened bodies of two young herons, and above
them the warm plumage of a living bird, which
did not appear to avoid the touch of my hand.
An effort with both arms now brought my face to
a level with the nest, but I had scarcely time to
perceive that it contained a healthy and perfectly
fledged young bird, sitting complacently on the
bodies of his defunct brethren, before he darted
violently at my eyes, although he had previously
evinced no displeasure at the introduction of my
hand, and I was only able to protect them by bob-
bing my head suddenly, and receiving the attack
in a less vulnerable quarter. As if roused by the
sudden exertion, he then scrambled out of the
nest to the extremity of an adjoining bough, from
whence— being unable to follow him — I endeavour-
ed to shake him off, but for a long time in vain.
The obstinacy with which he maintained his hold
was extraordinary, and even after losing his equi-
librium, and hanging, head downwards, for a few
moments, just as I fancied he was about to drop,
he suddenly clutched the branch more firmly than
ever, and writhing his elastic neck upwards, he
seized a twig with his beak, which he held with all
the tenacity of a parrot. I therefore continued
to shake the bough, and after persevering in this

24 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

operation for some minutes, he gradually relaxed
his hold, and half fluttering, half tumbling through
the horizontal branches of the tree beneath me,
at last reached the ground in safety.

I had now leisure to examine the nest, the
lower and external portions of which were com-
posed of sticks from the larch and fir, the mate-
rials 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 propor-
tion, being, as nearly as I could guess, about four
feet in diameter, and some of those in the neigh-
bouring trees, when viewed from beneath, seemed
even larger than this.

The two dead birds appeared to have perished
about a week before, probably owing to the un-
usual severity of the weather during the past
month. Their decomposing bodies did not seem
to have incommoded the old birds, as they might
easily have removed the annoyance, if inclined to
do so, by throwing them out of the shallow nest,
in the interior of which I found nothing else, ex-
cept the back-bones of two or three fish, which
might have originally weighed half a pound each.

My operations1 having for the present disturbed
the elder members of the heronry, who seemed
unwilling to return to the trees while I remained

YOUNG HERON. 25

there, I left the place for a couple of hours, and
then cautiously retracing my steps, fastened my
horse to a shrub at some distance, and taking off
my shooting coat, from one of the capacious pock-
ets of which the head and neck of the living
heron* protruded, I slung my spy-glass over my

* This bird reached home in safety, none the worse
for his rough ride and uncomfortable saddle. During
the first three months his diet consisted exclusively of
fish ; indeed, he showed a repugnance to any other
kind of food. He is in excellent health, and possesses
as much liberty as a partially clipped wing will permit
him to enjoy. Although capable of taking short flights,
he evinces no inclination to wander beyond the precincts
of a large stable-yard, nor any uneasiness at the ap-
proach of dogs or strangers.

He lives on familiar terms with three tame ravens,
who occasionally pass through the gate, or perch on the
roofs of the outbuildings. He is now even more omnivo-
rous than his sable friends, but condescends to partake
of their meals, devouring raw and cooked meat, bread,
boiled potatoes, and the offal of hares and rabbits, with
indiscriminate voracity.

When his appetite happens to be unusually fastidi-
ous, he stations himself on the edge of a small tank, in
which a constant supply of live fish used formerly to be
kept for his especial use, and throws many a wistful
glance on the now vacant water ; but his favourite posi-
tion is in a corner of the yard, cheek-by-jowl with
a large watch-dog. Here, with his head drawn back

c

26 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

neck, and as silently as possible ascended a
Scotch fir which commanded from its upper
branches a good view of a large nest in a neigh-
bouring tree. The evergreen boughs, moreover,
were so well clothed with leaves that I found less
difficulty than I had expected in concealing my-
self, but notwithstanding all my care the old birds
had taken the alarm when I began to climb, and
I had to wait a long time before either of them re-
turned. I had, however, a good opportunity of
examining with my glass the grotesque inhabi-
tants of the nest : they were three in number, ap-
peared to be not more than a week or ten days
old, and were partly clothed with a hairy down,
resembling hemp or flax in colour and appear-
ance ; their heavy heads, crowned with tufts of
this, and raised occasionally as they opened their
enormous mouths in expectation of food, and then
suddenly dropped again ; their great staring eyes,
writhing necks, and naked bodies ; altogether con-

between his shoulders, and muffled up in a collar of loose
feathers, he passes the greater portion of his time, appa-
rently lost in an absent fit; but as his dinner-hour ap-
proaches, he gradually rouses himself, his long neck is
unfolded, his plumage becomes compact and smooth, he
screams with delight, and stalks about the yard.

HERON ALIGHTING ON ITS NEST. 27

tributed to render their appearance irresistibly
ludicrous: but their excitement seemed to have
reached its utmost when one of the old birds,
which had flapped round the nest for some time,
at last prepared to alight, gradually allowing his
outstretched legs to fall from the horizontal to the
perpendicular, and working his wings with in-
creased violence and rapidity until he found a
firm footing on the margin of the nest, when, open-
ing his beak, he immediately disgorged several
small eels, which were greedily devoured by the
three young birds. The eels appeared to be
very small; but I had ere long an opportunity of
observing that even when a fish is of a tolerable
size, the heron contrives to conceal it within the
elastic pouch to which, in so many birds, the di-
latable skin of the throat can be readily convert-
ed ; for many minutes had not elapsed before I
saw an old heron alight on a more distant tree,
and opening his mouth, drop a fish, which ap-
peared to be above half a pound weight, into the
bottom of his nest. I had, it is true, only a pass-
ing glimpse of it as it fell, and therefore at the mo-
ment could make only a rough guess at its weight
and species, but it appeared to be a bream, or large
roach, and of such a shape and size as I should
scarcely have supposed to have been stowed away
within that graceful neck, if I had not been aware,

c2

28 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

from former observations on the habits of cormo-
rants and divers, how great are the expansive pro-
perties of the gullet in all piscivorous birds. After
dropping it on the floor of the nest he commenced,
by repeated blows of his beak, to lacerate and
tear the flesh from the bones, and seemed to ac-
complish his task in an incredibly short space of
time by means of the admirable tool with which
Nature had furnished him, performing at once the
double duties of pickaxe and pincers ; then fol-
lowed the feeding of the young birds, and so eco-
nomical a housekeeper and skilful carver did he
prove, that when I had afterwards the curiosity to
ascend to his nest, I found, as the remains of the
repast, little else than the back-bone of a fish
which might have weighed nearly a pound, with
only a few ragged bits of flesh adhering to it ;
even the head had been devoured.

Having secured this remnant, and taken a 'last
lingering look' at the inhabitants of the nest, who
were hardly fledged, and allowed me to handle
them without resistance, I thought I had caused
sufficient disturbance among my feathered friends
for one day, and being well aware of the capri-
cious nature of this species, entire establishments
of which have been known to desert their ances-
tral abodes, disgusted at the felling of a single
tree ; and knowing with what anxious care they

ROOKS VERSUS HERONS. 29

are regarded by their benevolent owner; I left the
heronry, and ascending the rising ground a few
hundred yards off, but still in the same wood, I
came to the rookery: here the herons had ori-
ginally taken up their position, but were expelled
after a few years by the rooks.*

By the way, I forgot to mention, that while
perched at the top of the Scotch fir, I witnessed a
curious chace, for combat it could not be called,
between a rook and a heron. The latter, return-
ing, I presume, from a foraging expedition among
the brooks in the neighbourhood of Pulborough,
was obliged either to fly directly over the rookery,
or take a circuitous route to avoid it. In this di-
lemma it would appear that he made up his mind
to choose the less prudent, though nobler alterna-
tive, but he had hardly appeared above the tops
of the trees before an old black warrior attacked
him furiously, following him up beyond the pre-
cincts of the heronry, and buffeting him vigor-

* It would appear that such contests are not invari-
ably attended with similar results. Bewick quotes an
instance in which hostilities were carried on during two
successive seasons, and after many of the rooks and
some of the herons had lost their lives, the latter re-
mained in possession of the disputed trees.

Perhaps in these struggles numerical superiority may
decide the victory.

30 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

ously, while the poor heron, far from making any
resistance, screamed with terror, and only occa-
sionally arrested his flight to throw himself into
an attitude of apparent pain and distress. Per-
haps you will regret that I have recorded this lit-
tle incident, as it may induce you to form rather
a low estimate of the moral qualities of a bird
whose physical organization would certainly ap-
pear calculated to enable it to resist such attacks
effectually.

I have long felt satisfied that the injury which
herons commit on fish-ponds is far less than is
generally imagined ; indeed, the depredations of
all birds which can by any possibility be sup-
posed to interfere with the comforts or luxuries of
man, from the lordly eagle to the republican spar-
row, are greatly exaggerated, and a short-sighted
proscription is the result. Nay, those very ope-
rations which should entitle some species to his
especial protection, are frequently, either from
gross ignorance, or a wilful distortion of reason-
ing, converted into a capital charge against them,
which entails unmerited persecution and the gra-
dual diminution of the race. Even the heron is
not such an unmitigated poacher as many persons
are inclined to believe ; I have had good oppor
tunities of observing him here, and still better in
Ireland, and I have rarely known him take a fish

HERON AND WATER RAT. 31

of greater weight than one pound. His structure
adapts him for wading to a certain depth into the
shallow waters on the borders of lakes, ponds, and
ditches, while his spider-like patience in watch-
ing for his prey, and his cat-like activity in secur-
ing it, enable him to thin the shoals of gudgeons,
eels, roach, and minnows, that pass along the
margins, and occasionally venture within his
reach : but the deep waters beyond are an un-
known region to him ; there the carp and tench
may swim in security, as far as he is concerned,
and the trout and perch pursue the fly, or spring
into the air, within a tantalizing distance of his
hungry beak : so long as they do not venture
within the range of that unerring weapon they are
safe: but how will it fare with that water rat,
which, returning to its subterranean habitation
from a visit to yonder meadow, is now about to
cross the brook, —

" ripae ulterioris amore ?"

How fearlessly it commits itself to the stream ;
so unconscious is the little animal of danger that
it does not attempt to dive or alter its course, but
with snout projecting from the surface, and tail
extended, it swims steadily across to where the
motionless bird awaits its arrival. The slightest

32 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

movement would prematurely reveal the presence
of the latter and disappoint him of his prey ; but
what forbearance does he not exhibit ! No hasty
step is taken in advance to anticipate its arrival,
that snake-like neck is still coiled up, and not a
muscle betrays a consciousness of the victim's ap-
proach. Onward it comes, Ha! it disappears ;
for a passing breeze has ruffled the plumage of
its enemy ; now then, the danger is over, and
you feel sure that it has successfully eluded the
vigilance of the feathered tiger, and reached its
hole in safety, but a sudden splash makes you
start, and you are convinced of your mistake when
you see the little quadruped writhing in the man-
dibles of the bird as he flies away to gorge it at
his leisure.

The heron is also partial to frogs and snakes,
which he destroys in considerable numbers where
they abound, but I repeat that I have very rarely
known him capture a fish of a pound weight.
His stock in trade consists of small fry, with the
occasional exception of a stout roach or a fresh-
water bream, a bony, worthless species, which de-
lights in basking among the shallows near the
margins of large ponds ; and I firmly believe that
far greater devastation is committed among the
finny inhabitants of preserved waters by one levi-
athan of a pike — who is, moreover, an uncompro-

SUMMER OCCUPATIONS. 33

raising cannibal — than by the united exertions of
all the members of any one heronry in the world.
The herons at Parham assemble early in Fe-
bruary, and then set about repairing their nests,
but the trees are never entirely deserted during
the winter months ; a few birds, probably some of
the more backward of the preceding season, roost-
ing among their boughs every night. They com-
mence laying early in March, and the greater
part of the young birds are hatched during the
early days of April. About the end of May they
may be seen to flap out of their nests to the adja-
cent boughs, and bask for hours in the warm sun-
shine ; but although now comparatively quiet
during the day, they become clamorous for food
as the evening approaches, and indeed for a long
time appear to be more difficult to wean, and less
able to shift for themselves, than most birds of a
similar age. They may be observed, as late as
August, still on the trees, screaming for food, and
occasionally fed by their parents, who forage for
them assiduously ; indeed, these exertions, so far
from being relaxed after the setting of the sun,
appear to be redoubled during the night; for I
have frequently disturbed herons when riding
by moonlight among the low grounds near the
river, where I have seldom seen them during
the day, and several cottagers in the neighbour-

c 5

34 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

hood of Parham have assured me that their shrill
cry may be heard at all hours of the night, during
the summer season, as they fly to and fro over-
head, on their passage between the heronry and
the open country.

The history or genealogy of the progenitors of
this colony is remarkable. They were originally
brought from Coity Castle, in Wales, by Lord
Leicester's steward, in James the Frst's time, to
Penshurst, in Kent, the seat of Lord De Lisle,
where their descendants continued for more than
two hundred years ; from thence they migrated to
Michelgrove, about seventy miles from Penshurst,
and eight from Parham ; here they remained for
nearly twenty years, until the proprietor of the
estate disposed of it to the late Duke of Norfolk,
who, having purchased it, not as a residence, but
with the view of increasing the local property in
the neighbourhood of Arundel, pulled down the
house, and felled one or two of the trees on
which the herons had constructed their nests.
The migration commenced immediately, but ap-
pears to have been gradual; for three seasons
elapsed before all the members of the heronry had
found their way over the Downs to their new
quarters in the fir-woods of Parham. This oc-
curred about seventeen years ago.

The number of the nests now appears to be

WINTER QUARTERS. 35

rather increasing than diminishing, although an
unusually severe winter never fails to thin the
ranks of their occupants. The ponds, brooks and
ditches, which they have been in the habit of fre-
quenting, being now frozen up, the poor birds are
driven to the sea-coast and the salt-marshes at the
mouths of the rivers, beyond the Downs : there
the murderous fowling-piece stops the career of
many a straggler in his winter quarters, and the
ensuing spring finds several nests untenanted ;
but a favourable season soon sets all to rights ;
the gaps are filled up ; and the kind-hearted pro-
prietor of Parham, in return for his care and
protection, can now boast of possessing one of the
finest establishments in the kingdom of this mag-
nificent and interesting species.

ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

LETTER III.

Nam jam pendebat in auras,

Et modo factus erat fulvis Halieeetus alls."

OVID'S METAMORPHOSES.

Sea Eagle often mistaken for the Golden Eagle — Distinc-
tive Characters — Erroneous Nomenclature — Mark-
wick probably mistaken — Common reports to be
received with caution — Various instances of the Sea
Eagle in Sussex — A sharp Look-out — Catching a
Tartar.

I THINK it is Colonel Hawker who complains
that every canine brute as big as a jack-ass and
as hairy as a bear is denominated a fine New-
foundland dog. In the justice of this remark
every one will be disposed to acquiesce ; and the
ornithologist may observe that as great a liberty
has frequently been taken with the golden eagle,*
for there is not a wider difference between the
real Labrador animal and the huge mongrels stig-
matized by the " prince of sportsmen," than be-
tween the royal tyrant of the Scottish hills and

* Aquila chrysaetos.

GOLDEN EAGLE AND SEA EAGLE. 37

the bird which has so frequently been made to
usurp his title in the south of England. The fact
is, that whenever an immature sea eagle,* in his
juvenile dress of shabby brown — ere his cine-
reous coat and white tail pronounce him to have
arrived at years of discretion — has wandered
from his native haunts, in the vain hope of getting
a living on our shores, and has fallen an easy vic-
tim to the watchful shepherd or the wily game-
keeper, a paragraph detailing the occurrence
forthwith goes the round of the local papers, and
the bird is gravely pronounced to be " a magnifi-
cent specimen of the golden eagle."

Strange as this may seem to those who are
now well acquainted, not only with the general
characters of the two species, but with their ana-
tomical distinctions, yet to the uninitiated the dif-
ference does not appear so striking as might be
imagined. I remember on one occasion visiting
a museum with a friend — a superficial observer —
in whose eyes the young sea eagle seemed to bear
a greater affinity to the mature golden than to the
adults of its own species ; the dark beak and the
prevalent brown colour of the plumage in this
bird at once attracting his attention, while the un-
feathered tarsi and scutellated toes escaped his
notice. However well and thoroughly understood
* Haliteetus albicilla.

38 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

these characters have since become, we must not
forget that even our own Bewick, so accurate in
most respects, assigned specific rank to the young
of both the birds in question, erroneously distin-
guishing them from their respective adults by the
names of the brown or sea eagle, and the ring-
tailed eagle ; but truly his admirable and life-like
figures of the birds themselves may well induce
us not only to forgive, but even to rejoice in the
scientific error.

Markwick, whose ' Catalogue of the Birds of
Sussex' appeared in the Linnean Transactions,
A.D. 1795, says, in reference to the golden eagle,
" Several years ago I saw a bird of this species
which was shot in this neighbourhood ;" but he
makes no allusion whatever to the cinereous or
sea eagle, and indeed the passage which T have
quoted above comprehends all his notice of the
rarer species. Now, I have taken considerable
pains to ascertain, if possible, one well-authenti-
cated instance of the death or capture of this bird
in Sussex: I have on more than one occasion
journeyed to a distant part of the county, tempted
by some high-sounding paragraph or plausible
communication, to inspect a veritable Aquila
chrysaetos, but in every instance I have been
doomed to disappointment, the so-called " golden
eagle " invariably turning out to be nothing more

REPORTS TO BE DISTRUSTED. 39

than a young bird of the common species. Tak-
ing, therefore, into consideration the imperfect
state of the science in Markwick's time, and the
vague and incorrect ideas on the subject of no-
menclature generally, which prevailed, indeed, to
a much later period ; bearing in mind also that
the golden eagle — the eagle to which he alludes
— has apparently never since been met with in the
wild state in Sussex, while the white-tailed —
which he does not even mention — has occurred in
several instances ; and remembering that Bexhill,
where his eagle was said to have been killed, is a
village on the coast between Pevensey Bay and
Hastings, and therefore a more probable locality
for the sea eagle ; I think we may fairly conclude
that Markwick's bird was in reality the Haliceetus
albicilla.

It is not without a considerable sense of disap-
pointment that I feel myself compelled conscien-
tiously to relinquish all claim to the golden eagle
as a Sussex bird, but although I readily plead
guilty to a strong desire to open the door to as
many of our feathered visitors as can, from my
own personal knowledge, or on unquestionable
authority, be admitted to a place in our local
fauna, yet I am well aware of the extreme caution
with which all oral information respecting birds
or their habits should be received : the numerous

40 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

errors and exaggerations which have crept into
some of our earlier histories are frequently attri-
butable to a want of care in this respect, or too
great a share of credulity on the part of their au-
thors ; the verification of facts should be a grand
object with all who labour in the wide field of
Natural History : and the observer who confines
himself even to one district, however limited, will
find ample materials for investigation and record,
without having occasion to press into his service
either apocryphal anecdotes or doubtful species.
A sea eagle in immature plumage was shot
some years ago by the proprietor of the Dolphin
Inn, at Shoreham. It was observed preying on
some dead fish which had been thrown up by the
waves on the beach, and being gorged, was killed
without difficulty. In January, 1844, a sea eagle
was shot near Windmill Hill, in the parish of
Warding, and during the winter of 1841 a bird of
the same species was observed in the neighbour-
hood of Rottingdean for nearly a month ; he was
unusually wary, and generally haunted the banks
of a small sheep-pond on the high Downs, where
he could command a good view of an approach-
ing enemy ; and when the tide was out he would
appear on the shore in search of dead fish, always
keeping away from the cliffs, and taking prompt
alarm at an approaching boat, in which, perhaps,

CATCHING A TARTAR. 41

some ardent gunner might lie concealed. Not-
withstanding all his vigilance, however, one day,
when he was dozing on the borders of the ele-
vated pool above mentioned, a lark-shooter suc-
ceeded in approaching within a tolerable distance,
but being only prepared for " small fry " the dis-
charge of his gun was not sufficient to disable the
bird, which succeeded in making his escape.

A fine example of the same species, but also in
imperfect plumage, was shot about four years ago
by a man in the employment of the superintend-
ent of Pevensey Levels. Being only winged, the
bird contrived to scramble into a corner formed
by two fences or low walls, where he took up his
position, and turning his face to his foes, like
Siccius Dentatus, he defended himself so reso-
lutely that he kept his persecutors at bay for a
length of time, one and all declining to come to
closer quarters with such a formidable antagonist.
Having tried in vain to turn his flank, an ally in
the form of a sheep-dog was called in, who com-
menced his attack in the most courageous manner,
little anticipating what a warm reception he was
about to meet with ; but he soon found that he
had " caught a Tartar ;" for he was nearly killed
by the eagle before his rescue was effected. His
attack, however, caused a diversion by withdraw-
ing the attention of the bird from his biped tor-

42 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

mentors, and just as the talons of each foot were
respectively lodged in the ribs and throat of the
howling cur, and when another moment would
have seen one of his eyes cleverly scooped out, a
blow on the back of the head laid the poor eagle

" stretched upon the plain,

No more through rolling clouds to soar again."

NOTE. — While these pages are passing through the
press, I have received information from Sir Charles
Taylor that a large eagle, lately observed in his neighbour-
hood, had been subsequently trapped in one of the great
woods on the Cowdray estate. Being naturally anxious to
examine, or perchance obtain a specimen of an eagle found
so near me, I was just preparing to start in quest of it,
when Lord Egmont kindly anticipated my wishes by send-
ing it to me. It proved to be a male cinereous or sea
eagle, in immature, but uninjured plumage. I have ascer-
tained that the last chapter in his biography was as fol-
lows : — The bird had for three weeks frequented the wood-
ed district in that picturesque portion of the weald which
lies between Hollycombe and Henley Hill, about twenty
miles from the coast, and was evidently hitherto indebted
for his escape rather to the impracticable nature of his
haunts than to any cunning or vigilance of his own. He
had been frequently seen near some old pollard oak trees,
among which, it was afterwards ascertained, he had roosted.
Having, at length, imprudently ventured to make a foray

SEA EAGLE. 43

upon a neighbouring farm-yard, and carried off a goose,
matters began to assume a serious aspect. A council of
war was called : the farmer, the game-keeper, and the rat-
catcher met in conclave ; an alliance offensive and defen-
sive was formed ; the eagle was denounced ; and all mea-
sures, whether of force or stratagem, were declared lawful,
to destroy such a marauder : the first subscribed a pigeon,
the second a trap, and the third a rat. Operations were
commenced by laying down the pigeon near the supposed
retreat of the robber, as if to test his gullibility : this was
immediately carried off: the trap was then set on the
same spot, baited with the rat, and by means of this ig-
noble lure was the poor eagle deluded and captured.

44 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

LETTER IV.

!I think he'll be to Home

As is the osprey to the fish, who takes it
By sovereignty of nature."

CORIOLANDS.

The Osprey miscalled Sea Eagle — An Outlaw — Hue and
Cry — Unholy Alliance — Occurrences of the Osprey
in Sussex— The Mullet Hawk— Rival Fishers— The
Osprey at Pagham — Anecdote — The Biter bit.

WHILE the term " golden " is often applied er-
roneously to the cinereous or sea eagle, the osprey
or fishing-hawk (Pandion hali&etus) is as fre-
quently honoured with the title of the latter bird,
at least in this part of England, where, although
far from abundant, it is of much more frequent
occurrence than its gigantic namesake.*

The old oak trees in the neighbourhood of some
of the well-stocked ponds in the district of the

* Markwick does not allude to the osprey, either by that
name or under any synonyme, in his ' Catalogue of Sussex
Birds.'

OSPREY IN SUSSEX. 45

weald would appear to offer many spots favour-
able to its nidification, and were it not for the un-
ceasing warfare carried on against all the tribe, I
might have had the pleasure of recording here at
least one instance of its sojourning with us during
the breeding- season : but no sooner does an
osprey make his appearance in such a situation,
soaring aloft in graceful and repeated circles,
dashing into the deep, or suddenly arresting his
downward career, and hovering over the surface,
than he beomes the object of general persecution;
the proprietor of pike is alarmed, issues his merci-
less edict for his death or expulsion, guns and
traps are put into immediate requisition, and the
keeper, in his undiscriminating hatred of every-
thing in the shape of a hawk, vies with the guar-
dian of the waters in his efforts to destroy the
beautiful stranger.

During the months of May and June, 1843, an
osprey was observed to haunt the large ponds
near Bolney. After securing a fish he used to re-
tire to an old tree on the more exposed bank to
devour it, and about the close of evening was in
the habit of flying off toward the north-west,
sometimes carrying away a prize in his talons if
his sport had been unusually successful, as if he
dreaded being disturbed at his repast during the
dangerous hour of twilight. Having been shot at

46 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

several times without effect, his visits to these
ponds became gradually less frequent, but the
surrounding covers being unpreserved, and the
bird itself too wary to suffer a near approach, he
escaped the fate of many of his congeners, and
even re-appeared with a companion early in the
following September, to whom he seemed to have
imparted his salutary dread of man — his mortal
enemy — for during the short time they remained
there it was impossible to approach within gun-
shot of either of them.

Adult specimens have occurred in Sussex dur-
ing the winter and spring months, those which
have been obtained in the summer and early part
of the autumn being generally immature birds, as
indicated by their speckled upper plumage. A
very fine old female was killed lately at Pond
Lye, near Cuckfield Place. I had an opportunity
of examining this bird immediately afterwards,
when it was sent to Brighton to be preserved:
the stomach contained a trout, which had partially
undergone the process of digestion.

Specimens have also been shot on the Adur at
Shoreham, and at Beeding : it has also occurred
near Chichester ; and farther eastward, near
Brighton, Pevensey Levels and Rye harbour.

The river Arun flows through an extensive tract
of level meadow-land reclaimed from the original

THE MULLET HAWK. 47

swamp, just before it passes through a wide gap
in the Downs, Bury Hill being on the right and
the ruins of Amberley Castle on the left. A little
farther to the south it waters the ancient and pic-
turesque town of Arundel, celebrated even in old
Isaac Walton's time for its grey mullets.* This
fish would appear to have peculiar attractions for
the osprey, which, indeed, in the adjoining county
of Hampshire is called the mullet-hawk,t a par-
tiality which will account for the more frequent oc-
currence of the bird during the mullet season than
at other times of the year, and in localities where
that species of fish more particularly abounds. I
have an immature specimen which was shot dur-
ing the summer of 1836, near Amberley Castle,
by a man who rented the fishing on that part of
the river ; he had noticed it for several days, and
from an observation of its habits had come to the
conclusion that it was a very formidable rival in
his own trade ; he said that it had destroyed a
great quantity of mullets.

About the same time another was killed at Sid-
dlesham, on the borders of Pagham harbour,

* "And just so does Sussex boast of several fish ; as
namely, a Selsey cockle, a Chichester lobster, an Arundel
mullet, and an Amberley trout."

THE COMPLETE ANGLER.
f Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. i. p. 23.

48 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

which, from a former letter you will recognize as
a favourite haunt of this bird. During the sum-
mer and autumn of 1839 I enjoyed many oppor-
tunities of observing an osprey, and of contem-
plating the unchecked display of his powers on
this fine sheet of water. There were no wild-fowl
shooters at that time of the year to interfere with
him, and I need hardly say that he experienced
no interruption from me.

He seldom ventured far out to sea, but at low
tide, when the waters had receded from the beach,
he would make an expedition to the south, sur-
veying the shores from a great height, and occa-
sionally dashing down to seize a fish just beyond
the white surf which marked the outline of the
coast as far as the eye could reach.

The oft-told, but frequently doubted story* of
an eagle, i. e., an osprey, having been carried un-
der water and drowned by a large pike, into
whose broad shoulders the bird had fixed his
talons, derives some credibility from the circum-
stances attending the capture of an osprey a few
years since near Hottingdean, a little village about
three miles from Kemp-town. The facts were as
follows : A shepherd's boy, while tending his
flock near the cliffs, observed an osprey rising

* Lloyd's ' Northern Field Sports.'

THE BITER BIT. 49

with difficulty from the sea, and bearing in his
claws a large fish, with which he alighted near the
edge of the precipice. Running up hastily to the
spot, and perceiving the distress of the bird,
who appeared equally incapable of carrying off
his prize, or of disengaging himself from it, but
looked, as the boy expressed it, " as if he was
stuck in a trap," he disabled and subsequently
despatched him with his crook. I saw this speci-
men after it had been set up by a clever taxider-
mist,* who, to commemorate the particulars of its
capture, had mounted it on a large fish, with the
claws firmly imbedded in its scaly back.

What a singular fate for any predacious animal
to meet with when obeying the dictates of what
has been called " an unerring instinct !" Acci-
dents of this kind are doubtless of rare occur-
rence, and may be placed in the same category

* Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton, who has done much
within the last few years to elevate the character of his art.
From a correct knowledge of the proportions and attitudes
of birds — the result of out-door observation — he succeeds
in restoring to each its peculiar form and expression. In-
deed, his specimens exhibit a life-like spirit which I have
never seen surpassed, and contrast advantageously with
those unhappy families of woodpeckers and kingfishers
which one sometimes sees trying to stand in impossible
attitudes within the shop-window of the ordinary bird-
stufler.

50 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

with the sudden death of a civic dignitary who
had incautiously swallowed a turbot-bone at a
Lord Mayor's dinner. Seldom, indeed, does the
bird seize a fish which he is unable to carry off
with ease, and as rarely would a bone of such
deadly dimensions escape the aldermanic eye ;
but these things have occurred nevertheless, and
to any one who has examined the foot of a re-
cently killed osprey the matter will appear quite
possible, as far as the bird is concerned : the ex-
treme length and sharpness of the claws, and their
almost semicircular curvature — exceeding that of
any of our raptorial birds — added to the versatility
of the outer toe, which enables it to clutch its
prey with greater firmness, must at the same time
render the sudden extrication of its talons propor-
tionably difficult, should an urgent necessity for
such an attempt occur ; but that it is not volunta-
rily practised on ordinary occasions would appear
from the observation of Mr. Yarrell, who, in refe-
rence to the habits of a living specimen in the
gardens of the Zoological Society, says that after
" digging in the claws it held the fish most firmly
by four opposite points, not relaxing its hold or
altering the position of the toes, but picking out
the portions of flesh between them with great
ease and dexterity."*

* Nevertheless, the fact that this bird has generally the

THE KESTREL OR WINDHOVER. 51

LETTER V.

" Sufferance is the badge of all our tribe."

MERCHANT OF VENICE.

The Kestrel or Windhover — Its unmerited Persecution —
Destructive to four-footed Vermin, Reptiles, &c. —
Seizure and Execution of a Rat — Serpent-killer — Mr.
Waterton on the Migration of the Windhover — Pro-
blem and attempted Solution — Distribution of the
Kestrel — Periodical appearance " en potence " in Au-
tumn— Probable Cause — Commissariat Department
— Reappearance of considerable numbers in Spring.

OF the various birds which figure undeservedly
on the black list of the gamekeeper, there is none

power of relaxing his hold of his slippery prey will be fa-
miliar to all who have read Wilson's graphic account of his
habits in America. There the white-headed or bald eagle,
as partial to fish as the poor osprey, but too lazy to forage
for himself, sits patiently on the bough of some gigantic
tree commanding a view of the ocean, and when the osprey
rises from the surface with a prize, he instantly gives
chace, and frequently compels him to relinquish it.

D2

52 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

for which the benevolent author of the Essays has
pleaded more eloquently than the poor kestrel or
windhover (Falco tinnunculus), and, I may add,
none more deserving of his powerful intercession.
Of all our Raptores it is — perhaps with the excep-
tion of the barn owl — the most efficient destroyer
of mice, and as a general check upon the increase
of noxious small quadrupeds and reptiles, its ex-
ertions far surpass those of any other British bird
of prey. Its favourite food appears to be the
long-tailed field-mouse (Mm sylvaticus), whose
depredations on the bark and upper roots of
young timber and fruit trees are notorious ; it is
also known to consume vast quantities of beetles,
which in the larva state are injurious to vege-
tation; and I have myself seen a female of this
species seize, carry off, and ultimately kill a full-
grown rat. I was walking at the time on a high
road near Petworth, which was flanked on either
side by a deep ditch ; about a hundred yards in
front lay a large heap of stones, and in the imme-
diate neighbourhood were several newly gleaned
stubble fields : over one of these hovered a female
kestrel ; I was admiring her graceful evolutions,
and the apparent ease with which, in the face of
a strong westerly breeze, she remained poised as
it were in the air, when she suddenly darted over
the hedge which separated the field from the road,

KESTREL AND RAT. 53

and seized a rat which had evidently just issued
from the heap of stones, and was running at the
top of its speed to the opposite ditch. So rapid
was the swoop, that it had not accomplished half
the distance before the bird was on its back : fix-
ing the talons of both feet across its shoulders and
loins, she arose, and although evidently retarded
by her writhing and squeaking burden, cleared
the hedge, fluttered across a field, and alighted on
a mound of earth at the farther side. By making
a slight detour, and masking my advance with an
intervening oak tree, I contrived to approach
within thirty yards, and could perceive that she
was endeavouring to destroy the life of her victim
by severing with her beak the spine about the
middle of the back, Once, as if to try how far
her exertions in this respect had been attended
with success, she relaxed her hold of the rat, and
hovered over it in the air for a few seconds, while
the latter, whose vocal powers were now quite ex-
tinguished, and all its hinder parts paralyzed,
attempted to crawl, with the assistance of its fore
legs, down the sloping edge of the mound, when
the kestrel, as if satisfied that it could give her
but little more trouble, or perhaps ashamed of
prolonging a cruel experiment, more worthy of a
cat than a falcon, again seized it with both feet,
and resuming her position on the summit of the

54 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

mound began to devour it, commencing at the
head or back of the neck. Having suddenly
made my appearance at this moment, she flew off,
carrying the now dead and mutilated rat in cne
foot with comparative ease, and as I looked after
her, I could see her continuing her flight across a
wide meadow, until she topped a low hedge at the
opposite side, near a large wood, in the recesses
of which she could continue her repast without
further interruption.

You will perhaps think that I have described
this little incident with unnecessary minuteness :
1 had two reasons for recording these apparently
trifling details : it was the first instance I had met
with of any raptorial bird relaxing its grasp of the
quarry, and even quitting it, before life was ex-
tinct; and it serves to prove that, besides being an
efficient destroyer of mice, the kestrel is also a
check upon that most odious of all four-footed
vermin, the rat.

Ornithologists are aware that the slow-worm
(Anguis fragilis) is constantly devoured by this
bird, but it has even stronger claims to the title of
"serpent-killer." A specimen was shot in this
neighbourhood in the act of killing a large adder:
the bird and reptile are both in my collection.

The perusal of Mr. Waterton's interesting re-
marks on the windhover in Yorkshire has induced

MR. WATERTON ON THE WINDHOVER. 55

me to pay increased attention to its migration in
Sussex. It occurred to me that a careful observa-
tion of its habits and distribution in different parts
of this southern county, during the various sea-
sons of the year, might tend perhaps — in con-
nexion with what he had written on the subject —
to throw some additional light on this portion of
its history.

Mr. Waterton says, "Perhaps it is not generally
known that the windhover is a migratory bird ;
but whether the greater part of these hawks leave
England in the autumn, or merely retire from
their breeding place to some other part of our
country more congenial to their habits, is a pro-
blem which remains yet to be solved. For my
own part, I am of opinion that a very large pro-
portion of those which are bred in England leave
it in the autumn, to join the vast flights of hawks
which are seen to pass periodically over the Me-
diterranean Sea, on their way to Africa.

"Last summer I visited twenty-four nests in
my park, all with windhover's eggs in them. The
old birds and their young tarried here till the de-
parture of the swallow, and then they disappeared.
During the winter there is scarcely a windhover
to be found. Sometimes a pair or so makes its
appearance, but does not remain long. When
February has set in more of the windhovers are

56 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

seen, and about the middle of the month their
numbers have much increased. They may be
then heard at all hours of the day ; and he who
loves to study Nature in the fields may observe
them now on soaring wing, high above in the
blue expanse of heaven, now hovering near the
earth, ready to pounce upon the luckless mouse,
and now inspecting the deserted nests of crows
and magpies, in order to secure a commodious re-
treat wherein to perform their approaching incu-
bation. Allowing, on an average, four young ones
to the nest, there must have been bred here
ninety-six windhover hawks last summer: add
the parent birds, and we shall have, in all, one
hundred and forty-four. Scarcely five of these
birds were seen here from Michaelmas to the lat-
ter end of January.

" The periodical disappearance of the windho-
ver from its breeding place might give rise to
much ornithological inquiry; but I suspect that
when every circumstance shall have been duly
weighed, we shall still be in the dark with regard
to the true cause of its departure. The want of
food cannot be supposed to force it away ; for food
the most congenial to its appetite is found here in
great abundance at the very time when it deserts
us. Neither can supposed inclemency of weather
be alleged in support of its migration, as the

ITS DISTRIBUTION IN SUMMER. 57

temperature of England is remarkably mild long
after the sun has descended into the southern
hemisphere."*

Throughout the whole of the weald, which
comprehends about half the county of Sussex,
the kestrel or windhover is moderately dispersed
during the breeding-season. In this wooded dis-
trict it adopts the deserted nest of the carrion
crow or magpie, but although I have taken consi-
derable pains to ascertain, from constant personal
observation during several years, the extent of its
distribution here at this season, even in those lo-
calities where it was obviously of more frequent
occurrence than in others, I could never find that
it was numerous as a species in any portion of
this region. For instance, on a well-wooded manor
of nearly two thousand acres, where game and
gamekeepers had been equally scarce for many
years, I could not discover more than four esta-
blishments of the windhover during an entire
spring and summer, although I explored every
crow's nest that I could find, and frightened
many a magpie out of its own lawful habitation.
Now admitting that an equal number had escaped
my detection — which I think is scarcely possible

* ' Essays on Natural History,' first series, 3rd edition,
page 261.

D5

58 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

— still this species must be considered as compa-
ratively sparingly distributed throughout this part
of the county during the spring and summer
months. At the same season I have repeatedly
examined other districts, and from my own obser-
vation, and the concurrent testimony of local ob-
servers on whom I knew I could rely, I conclude
that this bird is then much less numerous in all
parts of this county than in the north of England.
During the months of May, June and July I
have occasionally found it among the parks and
plantations situated on the sandstone formation
between the weald and the Downs ; also among
the beech woods of the latter, and in the neigh-
bourhood of the heathery commons immediately
to the north of that range of hills. They are,
however, more numerous on the coast to the east
of Brighton than in some other districts of Sussex
at this season ; although even there they do not
appear to congregate to such a degree as in simi-
lar situations in other parts of England, and they
are certainly less abundant on those chalk preci-
pices, which, commencing at Kemp-town, termi-
nate at Beachy Head, than among the grey cliffs
of the wealden rock which lie to the eastward of
Hastings : but as autumn draws near their num-
bers gradually increase in all parts of the county,
and at the very period when Mr. Waterton

APPEARANCE IN AUTUMN. 59

describes them as leaving his neighbourhood —
that at which the swallow takes its departure —
they are perhaps more numerous here than at any
other time of the year. The maritime tract ex-
tending from Brighton to Chichester, the whole
range of the Downs, the highly-cultivated district
between them and the weald, and the open por-
tions of the forest range in the eastern division,
abound with numbers of this species, which seem
to accumulate in the neighbourhood of the coast
as the winter approaches. Many of these are, of
course, birds of the year, but a considerable pro-
portion are adult, and I am convinced that I have
seen more of the latter during a morning's walk
among the fields, about the latter part of October,
in the neighbourhood of Worthing, than could
have been found in half the county during the
breeding-season.

When the corn has been reaped, and the pro-
cess of gleaning — or leazing, as it is here termed
— finished, the kestrel may be seen hovering over
the stubbles: then, and for a long time after-
wards, those fields abound with their favourite
prey. Let us bear in mind that the arboreal
beetles (Lucanidcs, Melolonthidcs, Cetoniada,
&c.), and the large moths and grubs of different
kinds, which constitute so great a proportion of
their daily food during the summer months, have

60 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

now in a great measure disappeared, or are be-
coming difficult to discover : accordingly, as the
season advances, we find the windhover leaving
our woods and forests for the open fields, espe-
cially where the sickle has revealed the long-con-
cealed runs of the field-mouse (Mus sylvaticus],
and where the scattered grain attracts wandering
parties of the short- tailed vole (Arvicola agrestis}.
This, the most destructive of our diminutive
quadrupeds, equally injurious to the farmer, the
gardener and the proprietor of young plantations,
is now devoured in considerable numbers by the
kestrel. With the view of satisfying myself on
this point, I have occasionally shot and dissected
the bird at this season, when the contents of the
stomach removed all possibility of doubt. I have
also found the harvest mouse (Mus messorius),
which, as well as the young of the long-tailed
species, is frequently bolted whole by this bird,
after the manner of an owl : but scarcely any kind
of large insect or diminutive quadruped comes
amiss. It luxuriates in grasshoppers. On one
occasion I observed a male kestrel beating a small
meadow for nearly an hour, flying much closer to
the ground than usual, and every now and then
dropping down, and occasionally, but not inva-
riably, securing something in the grass. On
paying still closer attention to his manoeuvres,

COMMISSARIAT DEPARTMENT. 61

although I felt convinced that nothing but insects
could furnish such an uninterrupted succession of
victims, I was still at a loss to discover the parti-
cular species to which he seemed so partial. I
therefore went into the house for my gun, and
returning in a few minutes, found him still en-
gaged, and so entirely was his attention absorbed
by his sport that I had no difficulty in walking up
and shooting him directly. The stomach con-
tained a mass of half-digested grasshoppers, and
the proventriculus was literally crammed with
them, and with nothing else. Food of this kind
of course soon becomes scarce as the autumn ad-
vances ; the same may be said of reptiles ; and of
the different species of mice which constitute its
staple support, some retire on the approach of
winter to their subterranean burrows under the
roots of trees, or occupy the deserted cellars of
the mole ; others, which had taken to the mea-
dows in the early spring, or haunted their favour-
ite corn-field during the summer, and afterwards
perseveringly gleaned the stubble as long as a
grain of wheat or barley was to be found, now
take up their winter quarters in the comfortable
rick close by, beyond the precincts of which they
seldom venture during the inclement season of the
year. Here, then, the supplies are cut off with
a vengeance, and as the windhover invariably

62 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

prefers fur to feather, seldom, as far as my expe-
rience goes, killing even a young lark — which,
however, occasionally forms an exception to the
rule — where mice are to be obtained, it is not diffi-
cult to imagine that if half the numbers of this
prolific hawk which are bred in England, were to
remain with us during the dead of winter, the
country would fail to furnish such a quantity of
their natural aliment as would satisfy the wants of
all, and they would either starve or be compelled
to do violence to their tastes, and to prey upon
many species of birds which they had heretofore
left unmolested. But although several kestrels
remain scattered at intervals through our woods
and over our moors during this season — when I
have known an instance of a female killing and
devouring a wounded partridge — yet the great
body of those which gradually concentrate near
the coast during the autumn and afterwards disap-
pear, certainly seem to be on their passage from
the more northern and central parts of the island,
preparatory to their migration from this country
to some southern region, where their favourite
food may possibly abound during the winter. As
early as the latter end of February, or the begin-
ning of March, we again notice a considerable
addition to their ranks, but in the following
month, the woods in the interior and the cliffs on

DISTRIBUTION DURING THE WINTER. 63

the coast contain only the usual number that so-
journ with us during the breeding season ; and on
the whole the species appears to be but moderately
distributed throughout this county until the arri-
val of new migratory parties from the north during
the following autumn.*

* It has been my anxious wish to exclude as much as
possible from these pages all matters of a controversial na-
ture, and I have cautiously abstained from entering into
the subject of migration, as a " quastio vexata" which
would appear to have baffled or puzzled so many great
zoologists. " Who shall decide when doctors disagree ?"
Still, one's views and opinions will, however carefully kept
in check, occasionally ooze out, as it were, in spite of one's
self. Even so I find that I have been unconsciously at-
tempting to account for the migration of the kestrel.
Should these remarks ever meet the- eye of the distin-
guished author whom I have just quoted, and whose inte-
resting and truthful descriptions must endear him to every
lover of Nature, I hope he will not think that I am ambi-
tious of running a tilt with him in a field where he has
already gathered so many laurels.

64 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

LETTER VI.

" The thieves have bound the true men : Now could thou
and I rob the thieves !" — KING HENRY IV.

The Sparrowhawk pre-eminently a Bird-destroyer — Adap-
tation of Structure to Habits — Separation of the Sexes
during Winter — Recklessness when in pursuit of its
Prey — Anecdote — Injurious to feathered Game dur-
ing the Breeding Season — Remarkable Instance of
Voracity — A Family of Poachers — Their depredations
— Capture of the Gang.

As the windhover is the most insectivorous,
harmless, and even useful of our native Falconidae,
so the sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), in propor-
tion to its size and powers, is the most carnivorous
of the family. Unlike the kestrel, it prefers birds
to quadrupeds, and from its great courage and au-
dacity, as well as a silent and stealthy mode of
approaching its unsuspecting victims, its depreda-
tions among the feathered tribes far exceed those
of any of our raptorial birds. By the way, the

SPARROWHAWK — STRUCTURE AND HABITS. 65

form of the foot and length of the toes appear to
furnish a tolerable indication of the characteristic
propensities of several species in this family,
which vary considerably in the different genera.
Thus, the kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), a true fal-
con — as indicated by the prominent tooth in the
upper mandible and the dark iris — is more nearly
allied in its habits and the nature of its prey to
the buzzards and harriers (Buteo, Circus, &c.),
than to its congener, the peregrine; while the
sparrowhawk (Accipiter), which in many particu-
lars departs from the type of the true falcon — such
as in having the upper mandible furnished with a
smooth festoon instead of a tooth, in the iris being
of a bright yellow, the tarsi slender and elongated,
and the wings short and rounded — yet approaches
the peregrine in its decided predilection for fea-
thered prey, as well as in the general fearlessness
of its character : but although presenting so many
points of difference in external aspect and struc-
ture, yet in one important respect these two
birds agree; in both, the toes are exceedingly
long, and admirably adapted for grasping and
penetrating the dense plumage of birds ; while
the buzzards and harriers, which, in common
with the kestrel, prey chiefly on quadrupeds,
reptiles and beetles, and require rather strength

66 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

than elongation of the prehensile organs, are all
furnished with comparatively short and stout toes.

The sparrowhawk is generally diffused through-
out Sussex, but is much more numerous during
the summer in the weald than elsewhere ; and al-
though subjected to at least an equal share of per-
secution with other members of the family, yet
either from the nature of that thickly-wooded
country, or the anti-Malthusian propensities of
the bird itself, it still appears to hold its ground,
and to defy that power which has nearly extermi-
nated so many of its congeners, and almost swept
from our fauna such a list of comparatively harm-
less and interesting species. In none is the supe-
rior size and strength of the female so conspicuous
as in this bird, so much so, that some ornitholo-
gists were formerly inclined to believe in the
existence of more than one species. When fo-
raging for their young, the female attacks the
game-preserve, the poultry-yard and the dovecot,
while her diminutive partner skims along the
hedge, and picks off the terrified yellowhammer
or the crouching bullfinch from the bushes, or
plunges into the evergreens after the sparrow and
emerges on the opposite side with his screaming
victim in his talons.

During winter the adult females still keep to
the great woods, the game-preserves, and the

SEPARATION OF THE SEXES. 67

neighbourhood of the farm-yard; but the males
are more frequently met with in those parts of
the county which are partially enclosed, and
where flocks of larks and lesser conirostral
birds haunt the fields on the borders of thick
hedges and coppices. During hard weather and
prolonged frost the sexes separate still more
widely, the female remaining in the interior, and
the male following to the coast the swarms of
small birds of all kinds which then congregate in
the fields near the shore. In the severe winter of
1838-9, when I passed much time in the pursuit
of wild-fowl at Pagham, I noticed one morning as
many as twenty male sparrowhawks hanging on
the skirts of a miscellaneous army of little birds,
which extended, with slight interruption, for some
miles, between Aldwick and Selsey, and harassing
their outposts like a hostile party of Cossacks.
There was not a female sparrowhawk among them,
and these males were known to the people on the
coast and its neighbourhood by the name of
stone-falcons.

The following is a striking instance of the blind
impetuosity of this bird when in pursuit of its
prey. In May, 1844, I received from Burton
Park an adult male sparrowhawk in full breeding
plumage, which had killed itself, or rather met its
death, in a singular manner. The gardener was

68 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

watering plants in the greenhouse, the door being
open, when a blackbird dashed in suddenly, tak-
ing refuge between his legs, and at the same mo-
ment the glass roof above his head was broken
with a loud crash, and a hawk fell dead at his feet.
The force of the swoop was so great that for a
moment he imagined a stone hurled from a dis-
tance to have been the cause of the fracture. On
dissecting the bird T found that there was a good
deal of extravasated blood on the upper surface of
both lobes of the brain and around the optic
nerves, the eyes being also much suffused, but no
portion of the body or limbs presented any marks
of violence, except a slight laceration of the alular
feathers on one wing and the plumage of the
breast.

I have already alluded to the destructive habits
of the sparrowhawk : the depredations of this lit-
tle tyrant of our woods and groves certainly sur-
pass those of any other British bird of prey, in
proportion to its size, and unfortunately, as I have
said, many of our rarer and comparatively harm-
less birds are compelled to suffer for its misdeeds.*

* The cuckoo, as every one knows, bears a strong resem-
blance to the male sparrowhawk at a distance — its general
form and manner of flight being very similar — when the
beak and feet are not seen. In a remote part of Sussex

VORACITY. 69

I could enumerate many instances of its almost
incredible voracity which have come under my
notice, but let one suffice. It occurred in the
summer of 1842, as I find by reference to my
journal for that year, from which the following
details are literally transcribed. I should premise
that I was at that time living in the weald, about
six miles to the north-east of Petworth, and that
I had taken considerable pains to increase the
number of pheasants in the wild, picturesque han-
gers and woods with which my residence was
surrounded, and where, when once established,
these birds become literally ferce naturd, finding
abundance of insect-food during the summer and
quantities of acorns in the autumn and winter, and
affording an attractive object of pursuit to those
who prefer wild sport and hard fagging to assist-

I once encountered a native who exercised the double calling
of bailiff and " varminf-killer, and who, on my remon-
strating with him for having shot and crucified so many
innocent cuckoos, assured me very gravely that although
those birds were called cuckoos during the summer, they
became hawks in the winter ; the bill and claws gradually
assuming the true falconine character. This was near the
coast, where the sparrowhawk is rare during the summer,
but where the males abound, as I have shown, during the
winter.

70 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

ing at the slaughter of the barley-fed victims of a
battue. I was endeavouring, as I said, to encou-
rage this species of game in my neighbourhood,
having due regard at the same time to the welfare
of my friends the kestrel and the jay, much to the
disgust of my keeper — a thorough bred "varmint"-
killer — who made his appearance one morning in
a state of considerable excitement, his counte-
nance presenting an expression of horror and in-
dignation, through which, however, I could detect
a smile of secret satisfaction when he informed
me that a hawk — with an emphasis on the hated
monosyllable — had carried off several young phea-
sants from the coops on the lawn — but here let
the journal speak for itself.

"June 23, 1842. Denyer the keeper has just
come up to the house, to tell me that during the
last two days he has missed several of the young
pheasants. He went at daybreak this morning to
the coops, in the neighbourhood of which he lay
concealed. Soon afterwards a loud screaming and
cackling among the hens announced the arrival of
an enemy, and by the time that D. had emerged
from his hut of oak boughs, gun in hand, he had
the mortification of seeing a hawk, out of shot,
carrying off one of the young pheasants in its
claws. I have no doubt that the thief is a spar-
rowhawk, and that unless we can extirpate the

FAMILY OF POACHERS. 71

family we shall lose several of our tame birds.
He observed the direction in which the hawk flew
with its prey, and I have therefore recommended
him to search the woods carefully in that quarter
for the nest, and to keep a sharp look-out near
the coops in the early morning, at which time the
previous attacks appear to have been made. I
regret much that an engagement at a distance,
compelling me to be absent from home for two
days, will prevent me from taking a personal share
in these operations.

"June 26. Returned home yesterday evening;
and the first object that met my eyes on driving
up to the hall door was a row of dead sparrow-
hawks, seven in number, which D. had impaled,
each upon its own peculiar stick, with its wings
spread and tail expanded, as if to make the most
of it : there were the Amazonian old female, and
the little cock, with his dark back and red breast,
and five immature birds, some of them larger than
the latter.

" It was not long before Denyer made his ap-
pearance with a game-bag in his hand, and gave
the following account of his successful expedi-
tion : —

"Having, with the assistance of Puttock the
gardener and a bird-nesting lad, carefully examin-
ed the great wood of Dunhurst, in which direction

72 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

the old sparrowhawk had flown with the young
pheasant, they at last found the nest in a thick
oak tree ; it was very broad and flat, constructed
on that of a carrion crow, but apparently much
enlarged, being considerably wider, although not
so deep. Hearing the cries of one of the young
hawks at a little distance, he concealed himself
in the underwood, and waited until the old male
arrived at the nest with a lark in his claws ; him
he shot, and then mounted the tree to examine
the nest, which he found nearly filled with dead
birds which the old hawks had procured during
their foraging expeditious for their young. The
latter were absent, but D. could hear their sharp
cries from different parts of the wood. His next
care was to set a trap in the nest without remov-
ing any of its contents, and he had not waited
long before he caught the female, with a young
chicken in her talons. He then proceeded to
empty the nest, and could scarcely trust his eyes
at the sight — here he shook out upon the grass
for my inspection the contents of the bag — there
were fifteen young pheasants, about the size of
quails — some rather larger — four young partridges,
five chickens, a bullfinch, two meadow pipits and
two larks, all in a fresh state. Puttock, the gar-
dener, who helped D. to remove them from the
nest, corroborated his statement, and I certainly

CAPTURE OF THE GANG. 73

saw and counted the victims myself, all of which
had evidently been killed by a bird of prey.

" The last operation of Denyer was to shoot the
young sparrowhawks, which, although nearly full-
grown and capable of flying, were unable to pro-
vide themselves with food. This he effected by
remaining quietly under the tree, until the birds,
whose gradually increasing hunger was evinced
by their louder and more frequent cries, by de-
grees approached nearer to the nest, and were
shot one after another to the number of five."

Now, what strikes me as more especially
worthy of notice in this case, is the fact that the
young birds are not supplied with food at a dis-
tance from the nest after they have left it, but that
while these yet haunt its neighbourhood, and are
still incapable of providing for themselves, the old
ones convert it at once into a larder and refectory,
which they stock with a constant supply of freshly-
killed prey, to which the others resort when
pressed by hunger, and are there fed by their
parents, and probably receive their first lessons in
the art of plucking and breaking up their dinner.

This will appear to be a wise provision of Na-
ture, if we reflect upon the difficulties and delays
that would attend the operation of feeding the
young birds separately at this stage of their
existence — when their appetite is probably the

E

74 OENITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

keenest — far from the nest, and at a considerable
distance from each other.

MIGRATION OF SMALL BIRDS. 75

LETTER VII.

"When Autumn scatters his departing gleams,
Warn'd of approaching Winter, * * *

******

O'er the calm sky, in convolution swift,
The feathered eddy floats ; ' * * *

* * into warmer climes convey'd
With other kindred birds of season, there
They twitter cheerful, till the vernal months
Invite them welcome back ; for, thronging, now
Innumerous wings are in commotion all."

THOMSON'S SEASONS.

Periodical transit of Flocks of small Birds through the
County — Various Species — The Goldfinch — "Har-
bour-Birds" and " Flight-Birds " — Anxiety of the
Bird-catcher — Pied Wagtail — Arrival on the Coast in
Spring — Plumage — Pilgrim Fathers — Progress to
the Interior — Return towards the Coast — Deter-
mined Direction of Flight — Geographical Considera-
tions.

I HAVE for a long time been inclined to believe
that many British birds, usually supposed to be
permanent residents, as well as those generally
admitted to be summer or winter visitors, perform

E 2

76 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

a double migration every year, and I may add
that repeated observation has tended to strengthen
me in this conviction. The numerous flocks of
certain species which pass in rapid succession
along the southern parts of this county in an east-
erly direction during the early autumn, when they
are captured in great numbers by professional
bird-catchers in the neighbourhood of our mari-
time towns, have apparently congregated from the
more distant parts of the island, and are evidently
bound for the continent, to which, like bipeds of a
nobler race, they have no objection to make a
short cut by the Straits of Dover; but whether
impelled to the performance of this pilgrimage by
a desire to take up their winter quarters in a more
genial climate, or by the apprehension of an in-
sufficient supply of the favourite food of the tribe
if its superabundant numbers were not relieved
by timely emigration, or by an irresistible instinct
of which they are unconscious, but which doubt-
less has been implanted in them by an all-wise
Providence ; certain it is, that during the period
occupied by the autumnal movement of these
flocks, a far greater number of the species which
they comprise pass along the shores of our county
in a single day, than would be found to occupy its
entire area at any previous or subsequent time of
the year.

VARIOUS SPECIES. 77

The advanced guard of this emigrant host usu-
ally makes its appearance in the neighbourhood of
Worthing, Shoreham and Brighton, about the lat-
ter end of August or early in September, and is
generally composed of detachments of meadow
pipits* (Anthus pratensis), pied wagtails (Mota-
cilla Yarrelli), tree pipits (Anthus arboreus), and
yellow wagtails (Motacilla jlava), the two first-
named species being generally understood to be
permanent residents in England during the whole
year. Many of those birds certainly do remain
with us during the winter, but I am disposed to
think that these are the natives of more northern
and western counties, which, having proceeded
thus far towards the south-east, are, as it were,
satisfied with this partial migration, and do not
cross the Channel, unless subsequently compelled
to do so by unusual severity of weather at a much
later period of the year.

But the troops of these autumnal voyagers do
not consist merely of dentirostral or exclusively
insectivorous birds ; the conirostral tribe furnishes

* Some idea may be formed of the number and extent
of these flocks from the fact that one skilful bird-catcher, a
few years ago, took in the neighbourhood of Brighton, with
a clap-net, as many as twenty-four dozen of meadow pipits
in a single morning. This was early in September.

78 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

many recruits, goldfinches (Carduelis elegans),
grey linnets (Linota cannabina), and green gros-
beaks (Coccothraustes Moris), pass in consider-
able numbers ; and such multitudes of the first-
named species are occasionally taken,* that the
market of the song-bird dealers is literally glutted
with them, even their most capacious family-cages
being quite filled with recently captured gold-
finches; and from this circumstance, as well as
from the comparatively trifling value attached to
these birds at this season — when, from the imma-
turity of the greater proportion of the little pri-
soners, and the deficient state of their plumage,
the sex cannot be satisfactorily ascertained — they
are frequently doomed to death, and being after-
wards tied up with yellow wagtails, green gros-
beaks and grey linnets, in variegated bundles,
from which their own little crimson heads protrude
like ripe berries, they are hawked about by the
juvenile members of the bird-catching fraternity,
and occasionally sold to those who can find it in

* May not this account in some degree for the total dis-
appearance of the goldfinch from certain inland counties
during the winter months ? Herefordshire, for example ;
a fact to which the editor of the ' Zoologist ' has directed
the attention of his correspondents. ' Zoologist,' vol. iii.
page 984.

THE GOLDFINCH. 79

their hearts to purchase such an ornithological
bouquet.

I have already said that many of our conirostral
or hard-billed birds, as well as others of the denti-
rostral or insectivorous division of the Insessores,
hitherto supposed to be constantly resident, at
least in the south of England, leave this country
in considerable flocks about the beginning of au-
tumn, and return to it in diminished numbers
during the ensuing spring. It would be taxing
your patience too much if I were to transcribe
from my journal all the notes and records com-
mitted to paper within the last few years which
bear upon this particular subject ; such an inflic-
tion might test even your ornithological zeal too
severely, and would necessarily exceed the limits
of many letters ; but feeling, as I do, that the sub-
ject is one of more than common interest, I pro-
pose to select two well-known examples, which have
heretofore been supposed to be constant residents
in our island, the goldfinch and the pied wagtail ;
the one a hard-billed bird, the other soft-billed:
and an account of their migrations will be suffi-
cient to illustrate my theory, and perhaps compre-
hend as much as would prove interesting to you
on this subject.

Of the departure of large flocks of goldfinches
in the autumn I have already spoken, a few, how-

80 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

ever, remain in different parts of the county
throughout the entire year, and in winter are
generally found on wild, bushy ground, among the
remote valleys of the Downs, or on hedges near
waste land or commons. The periodical arrival
of fresh birds in the spring is well known even to
the most inexperienced bird-catchers in the neigh-
bourhood of Brighton, and anxiously expected by
them for many days previously : the goldfinches
which have remained all the winter are called by
them " harbour birds," meaning that they have so-
journed, or harboured — as the local expression is
— here during that season ; those which arrive in
April are called " flight birds." When the latter
are expected the bird-catcher watches his nets
with an anxious countenance, and his disappoint-
ment is great, if upon releasing from the meshes a
newly captured prisoner, he perceives by the dull-
coloured back, dirty red forehead, and general
shabbiness of the plumage, that it is only what he
contemptuously terms " a harbour bird." Far dif-
ferent are his feelings when he entraps one with a
light-coloured back, snow-white cheeks, and bright
vermilion forehead; he knows then that "the
flight " has commenced, and the hour of sunrise
finds him at his post on the following morning,
anxious to avail himself of the precious moments.
It is worthy of remark that the "harbour birds"

THE PIED WAGTAIL. 81

are much more shy than the newly arrived " flight
birds," which, with their plumage advanced to that
of the breeding season — the effect of a warmer
climate — are comparatively tame and easily
caught ; they are at once attracted by the decoy
bird, and fly into the net in unsuspicious haste.

Goldfinches again become numerous in October,
when detached parties, including the young of the
year, which have been spread through other por-
tions of the island during the summer, approach
the coast, and pass eastward in succession, until
they find — on the shores of Kent as I imagine —
a favourable spot for crossing the Channel.

The pied wagtail* arrives from the continent on
the shores of Sussex about the middle of March.
Although several remain here during the winter,
these bear but a small proportion to the numbers
that visit us in the spring. On fine days during
this season I have frequently seen them approach-
ing the coast, aided by a gentle breeze from the

* A few years have elapsed since I was first struck by
the incorrectness of the received opinion that our pied
wagtail was migratory only in the northern, but stationary
in the southern counties of England ; and a portion of the
following remarks on that bird appeared at the time in a
communication to the * Zoologist,' and were subsequently
noticed by Mr. Yarrell, in the 2nd edition of his ' History
of British Birds.'

E 5

82 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

south, their well-known call -note being distinctly
audible, under such favourable circumstances,
from a considerable distance at sea, even long be-
fore the birds themselves could be perceived.

The fields in the immediate neighbourhood,
where but a short time before scarcely an indivi-
dual was to be found, are soon tenanted by num-
bers of this species, and for several days they
continue dropping on the beach in small parties.
The old males arrive first, presenting the beautiful
jet black and pure white plumage of the breeding
season, while the females, and the males of the
preceding year which still partially resemble their
partners — the feathers on the back being of an
iron grey colour — do not make their appearance
until a few days afterwards. It may be observed
that the white on the forehead and cheeks of these
newly arrived birds is much more pure at this time
than in those which winter in England, and alto-
gether they have a fresher and a cleaner appear-
ance than even they themselves present a short
time after their arrival in this country.

Some of the old males seem to have made their
nuptial contract before their departure from the
continent; for after alighting on the shore they
exhibit many signs of restlessness and anxiety,
performing short flights and incessantly calling for
their mates.

PLUMAGE. 83

It is worthy of remark that those pied wagtails
which remain with us during the winter, do not
assume the summer garb at so early a period as
their travelled brethren ; indeed, on the arrival of
the latter, which generally make their appearance
in the full nuptial plumage, the former have but
partially commenced the change, only a few black
patches beginning to show on the throat, and the
light gray of the back being varied with occasional
feathers of a darker hue. In about a fortnight
afterwards this process is complete, and at the ex-
piration of that time the pied wagtails which have
anived from the continent, and those which have
sojourned in England during the winter, present
the same appearance.

After remaining in the neighbourhood of the
coast for a few days, these birds proceed inland in
a northerly direction ; and any practical observer
in the interior of the county may perceive how
much their numbers increase at this period.
There is scarcely a pool, road-side ditch, or vil-
lage horse -pond, where they may not be seen in
pairs, and this in districts where, but a week be-
fore, the species was thinly distributed.

Pied wagtails moult soon, about the end of
July or early in August. The black feathers
gradually disappear from the throat in both sexes,
and the dorsal plumage becomes of a lighter

84 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

colour in each ; the back of the male being
scarcely darker than that of the female during the
summer, which now assumes a still paler grey.
Young birds of both sexes resemble the latter.

About the middle of August there is a general
move towards the sea-coast, and these birds now
first appear to become gregarious.

At this season I have frequently noticed them
in considerable numbers on village commons and
similar localities in the interior of the county,
where they remain but a few days, making way for
fresh detachments, which, in their turn, pursue the
same route towards the south. About the latter
end of the month, or in the beginning of Septem-
ber, an early riser, visiting the fields in the neigh-
bourhood of the coast, may observe them flying
invariably from west to east, parallel with the
shore, and following each other in constant suc-
cession. These flights continue from daylight
until about ten o'clock in the forenoon ; and it is
a remarkable fact, that so steadily do they pursue
this course, and so pertinacious are they in adher-
ing to it, that even a shot fired at an advancing
party, and the death of more than one individual,
have failed to induce the remainder to fly in a dif-
ferent direction; for, after opening to the right
and left, their ranks have again closed, and the

GEOGRAPHICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 85

progress towards the east has been resumed as
before.

I have observed that their proximity to the
coast during this transit from west to east seems
to depend in some degree upon the character and
extent of the country intervening between the
Downs and the sea. For instance, in the more
westerly portion of the alluvial district which may
be said to extend from Chichester to Brighton,
the flocks of pied wagtails are evidently less nu-
merous, appear to be more scattered, and to
occur at greater distances from the coast, than at
its eastern extremity. This, I think, may be ac-
counted for. In the neighbourhood of Chichester,
Pagham and Bognor, that flat, maritime tract
attains its greatest breadth ; tall hedges, well-shel-
tered meadows, and highly-cultivated fields lie
around, and offer many inducements to these pil-
grim bands to divide their forces, and even to
pause in the midst of their journey, while at the
same time their movements are here in some
measure concealed from ordinary observation.
But as they advance towards Brighton, where the
bleak, naked Downs approach the sea, and the
intervening plain becomes narrower, the fields
being more open and the fences low and trifling,
these migratory flocks seem to accumulate — to
become, as it were, more concentrated — as they

86 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

follow each other in rapid succession towards the
east.

It would appear that these birds — the greater
part of which are the young of the year, at this
time but a few months old and unequal to pro-
tracted flights — in thus steadfastly pursuing this
course, are impelled by a wonderful instinct to
seek the shores of the neighbouring county of
Kent, from whence the voyage to the continent
may be performed with ease and security. At
any rate, from this period, throughout the whole
county, the species continues to be comparatively
but sparingly distributed, until augmented by
fresh arrivals from the south during the warm
days of the ensuing spring.

NO GAP IN NATURE. 87

LETTER VIII.

" Nature to them, without profusion, kind,
The proper organs, proper power assigned;
Each seeming want compensated of course,
Here with degrees of swiftness, there of force ;
All in exact proportion to their state,
Nothing to add, and nothing to abate."

POPE.

No Gap in Nature — Harriers — Variety of Plumage —
Different Species — Examples in Sussex — Owls —
Eagle-owl — Living Collection at Arundel Castle —
Donjon-keep — Breeding in Confinement — Prisoners
at large — Tawny or Wood Owl — Gradual Disappear-
ance— Utilitarian Spirit antagonistic to the Pictu-
resque— Ivy unjustly condemned — Short-eared Owl
— Scops-eared Owl — Occurrence in the County —
White, or Barn Owl — Innocence vindicated — The
Sanctuary — Rites of Hospitality.

How truly it may be said that there is no gap
in Nature ! To the general student of Natural
History this fact is beautifully displayed at every
step ; but even in the comparatively limited sphere
of British Ornithology, we have ample opportuni-
ties of observing how close is the affinity between

88 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

the various families of birds, and how insensible
are the transitions from one genus to another.
Thus, the short-eared owl (Otus brachyotos) — Strix
accipitrina of earlier authors — appears in some
respects more like a hawk than an owl — as in the
incomplete development of the facial disk, the ra-
pidity of its flight, the boldness of its attack, and
its diurnal habits ; while the hen harrier (Circus
cyaneus) — Falco cyaneus of Linnaeus — seems to
be as nearly allied to the owls.

Of the three species of Circus, the marsh har-
rier or moor buzzard (Circus teruginosus), the hen
harrier, and Montagu's harrier (Circus Montagui),
the second is by far the most generally distributed,
although all three must now be considered compa-
ratively rare in Sussex, even on the gorse-covered
Downs, exposed moors, and marshy commons
where they once abounded.

The great variety of plumage presented by
birds of this genus, now clearly ascertained to be
referable to age and sex, might easily have in-
duced a belief in the existence of many species,
at a period when this portion of British Ornitho-
logy had been but little investigated. The males
of the two latter, after the first autumnal moult,
gradually assume the adult plumage, which ap-
pears to be at least three years in arriving at per-
fection ; the upper parts being then generally of a

HARRIERS — VARIETY OF PLUMAGE. 89

bluish grey, and the lower white ; the most obvious
distinction between the two, next to the lighter
and more elongated form and tern-like flight of
Montagu's bird, being the presence of a transverse
belt of a dark colour across the secondaries, and
several ferruginous bars on the under wing-coverts.
The females are respectively larger than the males,
of a brown colour, varied less or more with several
shades of yellowish red, the longitudinal spots or
streaks on the lower parts becoming more narrow
and distinct, and the ground of a lighter colour,
as they advance towards maturity. The young of
the year resemble the females, but the plumage is
less streaked or variegated. The male of the
marsh harrier or moor buzzard, although, like
others of the genus, subject to a change which
may be dated from the first autumnal moult, yet
never arrives at that gull-like state of plumage
characteristic of the other two species ; the wings
and tail alone, even in very old birds, assuming
the bluish grey colour, the head and throat being
whitish, and the remaining portion of the body
presenting different shades of dark and ferrugi-
nous brown.

Although formerly of common occurrence on
the uncultivated heaths of this county, many
of which still continue in their primaeval state,
the marsh harrier is now one of the rarest of

90 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

our Falconida. I have never known an adult
male procured during the last ten years in Sus-
sex, and but few specimens of female, or imma-
ture birds. Montagu's harrier is more frequently
met with. A male and female are in the posses-
sion of a gentleman at Brighton, which were
shot at Wiversfield, in June, 1847. As both
birds were adult, and had been observed together
for some time previously, it is probable that their
nest was in the immediate vicinity. In Septem-
ber, 1844, a male was shot by the Duke of
Norfolk's head keeper, near Arundel, and another
in December of the same year by a gentleman
at West Wittering. I have seen a beautiful
specimen, an adult male, at Hollycombe, which
was obtained in that neighbourhood on the bor-
ders of Wolmer Forest; and another, a female,
which had been taken in a trap baited with a rab-
bit's scut, at Oafham, in March, 1842.

The hen harrier is, as I have said, much more
generally distributed, and examples, for the most
part immature, are shot or trapped every year,
and figure either in the gamekeeper's larder or
the cabinet of the collector.

Through this group of the Falconida we pass,
by an easy gradation, to the owls ; for the loose
and yielding character of the plumage, the pre-
sence of a facial disk, or ring of short, curled

THE EAGLE-OWL. 91

feathers which partially defines the outline of the
face, and a general lightness and buoyancy of
frame, evince an obvious departure from the cha-
racter of the falcons and hawks, and an approach
to those birds of the night which have not inaptly
been termed the moths of the feathered race.

The eagle owl (Bubo maximus] is said by Mon-
tagu, Yarrell and Jenyns, to have been met with
in Sussex ; such high authority is of course suffi-
cient to entitle it to a place in our local Fauna;
but although I have not been able to ascertain a
second instance of its occurrence here in the wild
state, I cannot refrain from alluding to the unri-
valled living collection of these magnificent birds
at Arundel Castle, existing in a condition more
nearly approaching to a state of nature than, I be-
lieve, ever before fell to the lot of any animal
which had been partially deprived of its liberty by
man. They inhabit a considerable space circum-
scribed by the massive, ivy-covered walls of the
old Donjon keep, into the deep fissures of which
they retire to rest during the broad day, and
emerge from these recesses on the approach of
evening. The fact that these birds have here not
only performed the duties of incubation, but even
reared their young occasionally — the only instance,
I believe, on record of any bird of prey breeding
when deprived of its liberty — would alone prove

92 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

their perfect reconciliation to the very qualified
captivity to which they are subjected.

The tawny or wood owl (Syrnium aluco) is still
found in the thick covers of the weald, and in old
parks, to which this bird now appears to be chiefly
restricted. Although in its persecution at the
hands of the keeper it does not present such a
case of injured innocence as the bam owl — a
young leveret or rabbit occasionally varying its
nocturnal sport — yet I believe that feathered game
is rarely or never molested by it ; while rats, mice,
small birds, reptiles, and large insects constitute
its regular prey.

This species was, even a few years since, more
numerous than at present in our great woods ;
which I attribute, not so much to special persecu-
tion, as to the disappearance of nearly all the aged
oak trees which used to form such a distinguishing
feature in our woodland scenery, and in the hollow
recesses of which the tawny owl deposited its eggs
and reared its young. An opinion has for some
time been prevalent among proprietors in these
districts, that under the existing state of duties on
foreign timber, and the present high value of oak
bark, it " pays better," as the phrase is, to fell the
trees when comparatively young, than to suffer
them to arrive at maturity, as their ancestors did.
Under these circumstances there is but little

LONG-EARED OWL — IVY. 93

chance, as there used to be, of some huge son of
the forest, whose premature decay perhaps had
escaped the notice of the woodman, affording an
asylum to this bird, and the same cause has
tended to diminish the numbers of the whole fa-
mily of woodpeckers, and of the long-eared owl
(Otus vulgaris), which used to build its nesl in
the dense masses of ivy with which the more aged
trees were clothed. In the utilitarian spirit of the
present day, which repudiates all perception of
the picturesque, these survivors of centuries have
been grubbed up and condemned as cumberers of
the ground; and an erroneous idea having been
propagated that ivy is injurious to the growth of
timber trees, as tending to absorb a portion of the
sap from the bark which it encircles — although it
is through its own root alone, which is in the
ground, that the plant derives any nourishment*
— we see trees which a few years ago were clothed
with perennial masses of ivy, now covered with
brown patches of its dead and decaying leaves,
and on a closer inspection perceive the fatal
wound where the unrelenting bill-hook of the
woodman had severed the bole of the beautiful
evergreen.

* For a triumphant defence of the ivy, see Waterton's
Essays, 2nd. series, p. 68.

94 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

The short-eared owl (Otus brachyotos) occurs
on our open heaths about the latter end of Octo-
ber, and its appearance here, as elsewhere, is
generally hailed as the harbinger of the first flight
of woodcocks ; but although I have frequently met
with it in such situations, and occasionally in tur-
nip and stubble fields, I believe it to be much less
generally distributed here than on the eastern
coast of England. It is an autumnal visitor from
the north, appears to be less incommoded by day-
light than any of its congeners, and flies, even
during sunshine, with a degree of boldness and
decision which alone would serve to distinguish it
from the others. Its prey appears to be similar to
that of the kestrel. The stomachs of three which
I examined contained the remains of field mice,
young rats, and the elytra of different species of
beetles.

The eggs and nest of this bird have been found
in Norfolk, but I believe that it has never been
known to breed in this county.

Of the occurrence of that rare visitor, the Scops-
eared owl (Scops Aldrovandi), I can record only
one instance in Sussex. It was shot some years
ago at Shillinglee, the seat of the Earl of Winter-
ton, and was subsequently in the possession of a
member of the family.

The white or barn owl (Strix Jlammea], pre-

RITES OF HOSPITALITY. 95

eminently typical of the genus, is the most gene-
rally distributed, although by no means so common
as in some other counties. Our farmers have at
last discovered that the occasional disappearance
of poultry from the yard, or of pigeons from the
dovecot, is not to be laid to its charge, and that
even the vaunted services of the cat in purging
the barn and the haggard of rats and mice, fall
far short of those performed by its powerful ally,
this useful and really valuable bird.

Some of these owls .have lately found a sanc-
tuary in the yews and ivy of the churchyard at
Petworth, and their hard breathing, late in the
evening, has more than once arrested the atten-
tion of the passers by, who fancied that some
jovial neighbour had been "brought to," and was
reclining in an adjacent gutter, under the somni-
ferous influence of the potations dispensed at the
beer-shop, having there taken advantage of the
legal indulgence " to be drunk on the premises."

I have the satisfaction of exercising the rites of
hospitality to wards a pair of barn owls, which have
for some time taken up their quarters in one
of the attic roofs of the ancient, ivy-covered house
in which I reside. I delight in listening to the
prolonged snoring of the young when I ascend the
old oak stairs to the neighbourhood of their nur-
sery, and in hearing the shriek of the parent birds

96 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

on the calm summer nights as they pass to and fro
near my window ; for it assures me that they are
still safe ; and as I know that at least a qualified
protection is afforded them elsewhere, and that
even their arch-enemy the gamekeeper is begin-
ning reluctantly, but gradually, to acquiesce in
the general belief of their innocence and utility, I
cannot help indulging the hope that this bird will
eventually meet with that general encouragement
and protection to which its eminent services so
richly entitle it.

CARRION CROW. 97

LETTER IX.

1 0 nines eodem cogimur."

HORACE.

Carrion Crow — His Haunts and Habits during the Sum-
mer — Hammer-ponds — Crow - Mussel — Winter
Haunts of the Hooded and Carrion Crows — Par-
tiality of several Corvida to the Sea-coast at this
Season — Local separation of two nearly-allied Species
— Probable Cause.

THE carrion crow (Corvm cor one) is a well-
known bird in most parts of Sussex, but more
especially frequents the wooded districts north of
the Downs during the spring and summer, where,
notwithstanding the dangers to which he is occa-
sionally exposed from bird-nesting boys and vigi-
lant gamekeepers, the species seems to have found
a strong hold, and does not appear to be sensibly
diminishing.

After the bursting of the leaf it is difficult to
discover his haunts ; so shy and solitary are his
habits, that two nests are seldom to be found in
the immediate neighbourhood of each other : and

98 ORNITHOLOGICAL KAMBLES.

here, amidst forests of oak, and dense thickets,
interwoven with briars and brushwood, he dwells
in comparative security, and has ample opportu-
nities of indulging his vagrant habits and his
predilection for all kinds of animal food. Besides
the young of small quadrupeds, carrion of all
kinds, and the eggs of pheasants, partridges and
poultry, he is exceedingly fond of a species of
fresh - water mussel (Anodon anatina] which
abounds in all the brooks and ponds in the clay
district of the weald of Sussex, and from this
circumstance, has among the country people ac-
quired the local name of " crow-mussel."

After continued and heavy falls of rain the mea-
dows in the neighbourhood of these brooks are
inundated to a considerable extent, and quantities
of this shell-fish, disturbed from the muddy bed
of the stream, are carried over and deposited on
the banks, where they remain high and dry after
the falling of the water. On such occasions the
carrion crow is not idle : as the floods retire he
may be seen issuing from the neighbouring woods,
expressing his delight, or announcing his disco-
very to his mate by his frequent croakings ; flying
steadily along the edge, but checking his progress
every now and then to seize and devour a newly
exposed prize; while another may be observed
parading up and down the banks, wading knee-

HAMMER-PONDS. 99

deep in the shallower parts of the stream, and
anxiously watching the receding waters ; or occa-
sionally plunging in his head and dragging out a
mussel, which he demolishes forthwith : the shell
being brittle, two or three smart blows of his
beak suffice to break it, and the contents disap-
pear in a moment.

Immense quantities of this bivalve are found in
the numerous ponds which form so distinguishing
a feature in the wooded scenery of the weald, and
attract the attention of all strangers who visit this
part of Sussex. Many of these are the remains of
establishments for the smelting of native iron, be-
fore the Swedish metal came into such general
use; and the names of " Furnace -pond " and
" Hammer-pond," which are still applied to some
of them, serve to point out their origin. They
frequently abound with fish, and are usually
drained at an interval of a certain number of
years ; carp, tench and eels are found in consi-
derable numbers, and the decayed vegetation
which has accumulated at the bottom in the form
of mud — the result of the falling of the leaf from
the overhanging woods during many successive
seasons — is afterwards dug out and thrown up on
the banks to be used for agricultural purposes,
and in this state the ponds are suffered to remain
for some time before the water is allowed to

F2

100 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

return, and the stock-fish re-introduced. Then
indeed an ample and welcome feast is prepared
for the carrion crow : the bottom of the pond and
the banks above being literally studded with the
fresh- water mussel. I have never observed so
many carrion crows assembled together as on
such occasions, and the banquet lasts for several
days, until nothing remains but scattered frag-
ments of the empty shells.

On the approach of winter the carrion crow
retires from the wooded districts and proceeds to
the sea-coast, at a somewhat later period than that
at which the hooded crow (Corvus comix] arrives
in this country from the north; and the partial
distribution of these Corvidce at this season, in-
volving, as it does, the local separation of the two
species, appears to me to be worthy of observa-
tion.

A few years since, while residing during the
winter near the sea in the western part of the
county, I remarked that the carrion crow was
common in the estuaries of Chichester harbour,
and along the whole line of shore from Selsey Bill
to Bognor, where I also met with the raven occa-
sionally at this season ; but I never could detect
the occurrence of a single hooded crow within the
same limits. This struck me as the more remark-
able, from having previously observed that the

HOODED AND CARRION CROWS. 101

last species is exceedingly numerous about twenty
miles to the eastward, in the neighbourhood of
Shoreham and Brighton, where the carrion crow
is, in its turn, equally scarce. I may add that
my subsequent observations have proved the above
remarks to be correct, and that they have been
corroborated by the testimony of local observers
whose attention I had drawn to the subject.

This peculiarity in the local distribution of the
two species, while impelled by the same instinct
to frequent the shores of our county during the
winter months, is certainly remarkable. It can
hardly be attributed to mutual dislike or hostility.
The well-authenticated instances which are on
record of the hooded crow having paired with the
carrion crow in a wild state would refute such an
idea.* Perhaps the varying character and aspect
of the country in the immediate vicinity of the sea
may aiford a clew to unravel the mystery.

To the eastward, near Brighton, and for many
miles in that direction, the naked Downs approach
the coast, and present a considerable extent re-
sembling— at least in the absence of wood — the
native haunts of the hooded crow in Orkney and
Shetland. A natural predilection for such a
country may therefore induce these birds to

* See Yarrell's ' History of British Birds.'

102 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

prefer the neighbourhood of this treeless tract to
the wooded and highly cultivated region which
extends to the very shore in the more western
part of Sussex ; and admitting this conjecture to
be correct, the partiality of the carrion crow to
the latter district may be accounted for in a simi-
lar manner.

I should have observed that carrion crows, even
where they occur in the greatest numbers during
the winter months, as at Pagham harbour and
the inlets of the sea to the south of Chichester,
seem always, more or less, to live in pairs, and
never assemble in large flocks, as hooded crows
are well known to do in the immediate neighbour-
hood of Brighton, and even on the beach between
the houses and the sea.

The food of both these birds, as well as that of
the raven, at this season of the year consists of
oysters, mussels, small crabs, marine insects,
worms and dead fish which are cast up by the
waves. Indeed even the rook is driven by the
same necessity to the sea-coast during the preva-
lence of severe frost, and partakes of the same
fare. At Paghara, in the vicinity of the oyster-
beds, I have frequently seen the carrion crow
ascend to a great height in the air with one of
these fish in his claws, and after letting it fall on
the beach, descend rapidly with closed pinions,

DEPARTURE FROM THE COAST. 103

and devour the contents, which, but for the shock
or fracture occasioned by the fall, he would have
been unable to disengage from the shell. I have
since observed the hooded crow, near Brighton,
resort to a similar expedient.

The latter birds make their appearance about
the beginning of October, haunting the upper
parts of the tide rivers at Shoreham and New-
haven, and the fields at some distance from the
coast, gradually becoming more gregarious and
more marine in their habits as winter approaches.
They congregate in considerable numbers every
night in a small plantation of fir trees, at Stanmer
Park, situated on an elevated portion of the de-
mesne called " High Park Corner." Those which
haunt the shores in the neighbourhood of Brighton
seem to restrict themselves to this roosting-place ;
at least I have not been able to detect another
within several miles of that town.

These hooded crows depart rather suddenly for
the north about the latter end of March. I have
frequently noticed as many as thirty assembled
on the beach opposite Brunswick Terrace, and in
a few days afterwards perhaps not a bird was to be
seen. The carrion crows commence their return
from the coast to the interior at a somewhat
earlier period, and, as might be expected from
their having sojourned in pairs during the winter,

104 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

their disappearance is not so sudden and simulta-
neous, but they gradually become less numerous,
until at last they entirely desert the shores for the
woods and forests of the interior.

FALCONS. 105

LETTER X.

1 As a falcon from the rocky height,

Her quarry seen, impetuous at the sight,

Forth springing instant, darts herself from high,

Shoots on the wing, and skims along the sky."

POPE'S HOMER.

Peregrine Falcon — Eyrie at Beachy Head — Lofty Preci-
pice— Beachy Head in the Breeding Season — Jack-
daws— Guillemots and Razor-bills — Herring-gulls —
Kestrels — Waterfowl at Burton — " The Duck-hawk "
— Shooting a Friend for a Foe — Unexpected Cap-
ture— The Hobby a Miniature Peregrine — Hobby
and wounded Partridge — A good Specimen — Occur-
rences of the Hobby in Sussex.

THE sight of a falcon now-a-days — as the au-
thor of the 'Fauna of Norfolk' justly remarks —
" is somewhat like that of the rusty mail or the
monument of a departed hero — the memories of
the past crowd upon the mind, when these birds,
now proscribed and almost annihilated amongst
us, were the favourites of ladies, and the com-
panions of princes."

But even apart from romantic or sporting asso-

F5

106 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

ciations, there is an air of independence and an
individuality of character about the Falconidce
that alone would render the group the most inte-
resting of the feathered tribes ; and when, besides
all this, we see them, like the aborigines of North
America, gradually yielding to the pressure of
what is called "civilization," and disappearing
from their native woods and mountain fastnesses
where a few years since they had it all their own
way, as the poor Indians among the prairies of
the West, a feeling of pity is superadded to our
regard for the persecuted race, and their habits,
manners, and even casual appearance, assume in
our eyes a twofold interest.

The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) may
be considered a rare bird in Sussex. As we have
no inland precipices, and the coast to the west-
ward of Brighton is generally flat, the favourite
haunts of this bird lie to the eastward of that
place. A pair have from time immemorial bred
near the summit of one of the highest cliffs at
Beachy Head, and although the nest has fre-
quently been robbed of the young ones, and
either of the parent birds has occasionally fallen
a victim to the trap or gun, yet it is surprising
with what pertinacity the position is still held,
and the right of tenure kept up by the survivor,
who in a short time finds a disengaged partner of

BEECHY HEAD IN THE BREEDING-SEASON. 107

the opposite sex, the latter at once entering upon
the performance of its duties as spouse or parent,
as the case may be.

On my last visit to Beachy Head, I was much
struck by the watchful jealousy with which the
peregrines seemed to guard the particular cliff —
more than 500 feet above the sea — on a lofty
ledge of which their nest was situated, and which,
indeed, they evidently considered their own espe-
cial property : with the exception of a few jack-
daws who bustled out of the crevices below, all
the other birds which had now assembled on this
part of the coast for the breeding season — it being
about the middle of May — seemed to respect the
territory of their warlike neighbours. The ad-
joining precipice, further westward, was occupied
by guillemots and razor-bills, who had deposited
their eggs, the former on the naked ledge, the
latter in the crannies in the face of the cliff. Here
the jackdaws appeared quite at their ease, their
loud, merry note being heard above every other
sound, as they flew in and out of the fissures in
the white rock, or sat perched on a pinnacle near
the summit, and leisurely surveyed the busy
crowd below. In a cliff still further to the west,
near Newhaven, another pair of peregrines have
also an eyrie, and an extensive colony of herring-
gulls is established, while in the same neighbour-

108 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

hood a pair of ravens annually rear their young ;
and the kestrel may be seen fluttering along the
margin, or dropping over the edge of the preci-
pice on his return to his own little establishment
from a mousing expedition into the interior.

All these birds, with the exception of the raven,
occasionally fall a prey to the peregrine ; his ra-
pacity when pressed by hunger or the calls of an
importunate family, is equalled only by his cou-
rage and audacity. I have seen him strike and
carry off a herring-gull, apparently with the most
perfect ease, and it would appear that he does not
scruple to make a meal of his congener, the kes-
trel, in situations where the latter bird happens to
be unusually abundant. A writer in the * Zoolo-
gist,'*— who seems to have had excellent oppor-
tunities of observing the peregrine during the
breeding-season in the immediate neighbourhood
of his residence, and whose interesting communi-
cation on its habits is well worthy a perusal —
says that it even evinces a partiality for the poor
kestrels which resort to the same cliffs on the
southern coast of the Isle of Wight.

The peregrine falcon is seldom seen in Sussex
during the summer months, the interior of the
county offering, as I have said, no spot favourable

* The Rev. C. Bury.

THE PEREGRINE AT BURTON. 109

for its eyrie ; indeed, except at Newhaven, I have
not been able to ascertain that a second pair
were established, even on the coast, during the
breeding-season, although the great locomotive
powers and wandering propensities of this bird
might induce a hasty observer to imagine that a
greater number were quartered on the cliffs be-
tween Brighton and Beachy Head.

During the latter part of the autumn the young
peregrines, being then able to provide for them-
selves, are banished by their parents from the
nest, and being left to shift for themselves, com-
mence "the grand tour" on their own account.

These at first linger for awhile in the neigh-
bourhood of the scenes of their youth, but event-
ually scatter over the world, and doubtless it is
from their ranks that deficiencies, caused by the
death of older birds during subsequent breeding-
seasons, are supplied with such mysterious ra-
pidity.

A falcon of this species occasionally makes his
appearance during the winter in the neighbour-
hood of the lakes, or large ponds, in Burton Park,
about three miles south of Petworth. The banks
of these waters are covered with masses of reeds,
and abound at all seasons with wild ducks, teal,
coots and water-hens, whose numbers are rein-
forced during the winter by flocks of wigeon,

110 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

pochards, and scaup-ducks, as well as by consi-
derable parties of their own species ; while a fail-
sprinkling of snipes and woodcocks are found
along the higher margins, and among the nume-
rous grassy tussocks which extend far into the
swampy plantations near the borders of the upper
lake. The game in the surrounding woods and
the fishing being strictly preserved, these birds
dwell here in comparative security, and as the
waters furnish them with an abundant supply of
their natural food, they have no inducement to
wander beyond the precincts of the park. Great,
then, is the general consternation when the duck-
hawk* — as the old keeper calls him — makes his
appearance. Taking up his position on a tall
fir tree commanding a view of the pond, he selects
a victim from the terrified flock as they fly hur-
riedly along, dashes after it with incredible swift-
ness, sweeps it almost from the surface of the
water, and disappears with it among the neigh-
bouring reed-beds, while its companions, suddenly
veering round, return again, as if unwilling to
quit the spot which has so long afforded them a
safe asylum ; but after a day or two they become
thoroughly scared, and may be found among the

* The name by which the peregrine is also known in
America.

SHOOTING A FRIEND FOR A FOE. Ill

brooks in the open country : indeed the first
intimation I have frequently received of the pre-
sence of the peregrine at Burton, has been the
sudden appearance of several "wisps of snipe,"
even in open weather, among the low meadows at
a considerable distance ; and little parties of teal
and wild ducks congregating at every turn of the
river, where the high banks afforded them a
chance of concealment, and where, though com-
paratively exposed to greater danger, they might
be found until the death or expulsion of the
enemy from their old quarters.

Specimens of this falcon have been shot near
Lewes, Newhaven, Seaford, Pevensey, and Rye,
in the eastern, and in the neighbourhood of Chi-
chester, Petworth, and Arundel, in the western
division of the county. It has also occurred
occasionally, though rarely, in the wooded portion
of the weald. A friend of mine has in his posses-
sion a specimen of this bird which was shot in
that part of the country by a farmer, who mistook
it for a wood-pigeon, immense flocks of which
abound there during the acorn season. On the
present occasion the man was endeavouring to
protect his ripe peas from their depredations, and
for this purpose, having concealed himself behind
a tree, and placed a stuffed pigeon, as a decoy, in
the middle of the field, he awaited the arrival of

112 ORNITHOLOGICAL EAMBLES.

the first party that might pass within reach of his
gun. He had not been there long before a pere-
grine falcon swept by, and made a dash at the
lure, but discovering his mistake, almost at the
very moment when he seemed to strike it, rose
with the quickness of thought, and flew into a tree
about thirty yards from the spot where the farmer
lay concealed. The latter, who still imagined it
to be a wood-pigeon — never before having seen a
peregrine — fired, and killed the falcon, thus
unconsciously destroying his best friend, and
depriving himself of a most powerful ally in thin-
ning the ranks of his feathered enemies.

A falcon was caught in a singular situation
last September at the farm of Saddlescombe,
between Shoreham and the Devil's Dyke. While
engaged in taking sparrows under the thatched
eaves of a barn, the farmer was surprised at
the sudden plunge of a heavier body into the
net, whose violent struggles among the meshes,
and the liberal use of its sharp claws, at first in-
duced him to believe that he had captured a cat.
It turned out, however, to be a peregrine — a bird
of the year.

Although, from a general similarity both in as-
pect and structure, the hobby (Falco subbuteo)
has been correctly styled a miniature peregrine,
yet, unlike that species, it prefers the wooded

HOBBY AND WOUNDED PARTRIDGE. 113

district of the weald to the Downs or the open
country near the coast ; being here a summer
visitor, and occasionally taking up his quarters in
the nest of a carrion crow. Yet even in these his
favourite haunts, he must be considered scarce,
and you will rarely discover his decaying form
among the rows of defunct hawks which garnish
the gable end of the keeper's cottage — a sort of
ornithological register which would appear to in-
dicate, with tolerable accuracy, the prevalence or
scarcity of any species of raptorial bird in its
immediate neighbourhood.

The courage and address of this hawk are re-
markable. When shooting with a friend a few
years ago, during the early part of September, we
observed a hobby pursuing a partridge, which,
having been wounded in the spine, was then in
the act of " towering." The little fellow proved
himself to be a true falcon, by the rapidity with
which he rose above his quarry in rapid circles,
" climbing to the mountee," as our ancestors
termed this manoeuvre, with all the ease of a pere-
grine. Unfortunately at this juncture the par-
tridge became suddenly lifeless — as is the case
with all towering birds — and fell to the ground,
while the hobby, apparently disdaining to accept
a victim which he had not obtained by his own
exertions, scudded away after a fresh covey which

114 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

just then rose from the farther end of an adjoin-
ing stubble field, and we lost sight of him for a
short time as he dashed after the frightened birds
into a thick wood where they had hurried for pro-
tection. His pursuit, however, must have been
unsuccessful, for he soon reappeared, following
the dogs as they quartered the field, and evidently
keeping a watchful eye on their movements ; but
unfortunately, passing within an imprudent dis-
tance of my companion, was unrelentingly bag-
ged by him. I must, however, plead guilty to
having last summer shot a bird of this species
myself a few miles to the north-east of Petworth.
It was in a wild, unenclosed part of the country,
on the brow of a steep hill, covered with fern and
studded with spreading oaks and large holly trees.
I was admiring the unusual size of the latter, and
that beautiful provision of Nature, only to be seen
to advantage in full-grown hollies, by which the
foliage on the lower branches, which drooped
upon the ground, was protected by a spiny armour
from the half-starved flocks around — the upper
leaves, which were out of their reach, being at the
same time quite destitute of prickles — when a
turtle dove suddenly dashed by, closely pursued
by a hobby, which, from his black cheeks and red
thighs, I saw at a glance was a male bird in full
nuptial plumage. My first impulse was to stand

HOBBY AND TURTLE DOVE. 115

still and watch the sport, but a conviction that I
should lose sight of both birds among the trees,
and a recollection that such a specimen would
form a valuable addition to my cabinet, altered
my plans in a moment, and I had just time to
bring him down with a snap-shot as he turned
suddenly after the dove, which had already disap-
peared behind an oak. However, if the country
had been more open, so as to have admitted of a
view of the chase, I might perhaps have allowed
him to pursue his quarry unmolested.

In the eastern division of the county the hobby
has been killed near Battle, Pevensey and Lewes;
it has also occurred more frequently in various
parts of the weald, and has been met with
occasionally on the south side of the Downs.
There is a specimen in the Chichester museum
which was shot at Halnaker in September, 1836,
and I have observed it near the great beech
woods on the higher Downs during the autumn :
indeed it is at this season that the hobby has
been generally killed. They then evidently visit
this southern county in common with so many of
our summer visitors who intend to pass the winter
months in a more genial climate.

116 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

LETTER XT.

" Nature teaches beasts to know their friends."

CORIOIANUS.

The Merlin — Stealthy Mode of Approach — Merlin and
Redwings — Occurrences in Sussex — Merlin on Snipe
Bogs — Chase of wounded Snipe — A valuable Ally —
Sport in Company — Good Understanding — A New
Confederate — Tactics of the Jack- Snipe.

THE merlin (Falco JEsalon) is a winter visitor
to Sussex, and seems as partial to the bleak and
exposed situations near the coast as is the hobby
to the woods of the interior. I do not remember
having ever seen this little falcon among the
covers on the clay soils of west Sussex, but I have
noticed it in the wilder portions of the forest
range to the east of Horsham, near Crawley and
Worth. It also occurs on various parts of the
sandstone formation immediately to the north of
the Downs, more especially where it spreads into
wide heaths, as in the neighbourhood of Rogate,
Midhurst, Duncton, Parham and Henfield ; on
most of which I have noticed this bird.

THE MERLIN. 117

In a partially enclosed country it flies low but
rapidly when foraging for prey, and I have more
than once seen it exhibit great skill in masking
its approach on such occasions ; skirting some
thick hedge or high bank for a considerable way,
at the other side of which it had apparently
marked a party of larks or starlings feeding in an
open field. On scuds the little hawk, and so
accurately does he calculate his distance, that
when he arrives opposite the spot where the birds
are regaling in fancied security, he suddenly
drops over the fence and strikes a victim in a
moment.

I once observed a female of this species at Kel-
som Moor, near Petworth, when the heath was
covered with snow, skimming along under the
brow of a hill, so close to the ground as almost to
touch her own shadow, strongly cast as it was
and well defined by the sunshine on the white
surface. She continued this course for some
time, and then, suddenly veering to the left, rose
rapidly above a clump of holly-bushes and made
a dash at a flock of redwings which were feasting
on the coral-like bunches of berries that covered
the branches, but missing her swoop, she soon
singled out a bird for a fresh experiment, and as
if ashamed of her former system of tactics, had
recourse at once to open warfare, pressing her

118 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

quarry so severely that it was obliged to mount
aloft, its only chance of escape being to keep
above its pursuer ; but all in vain : it proved less
expert at this mano3uvre than the lark or even the
snipe, and after a short flight was clutched by the
merlin, who, as she came over my head in her ra-
pid descent towards a rough, broken part of the
moor at a little distance, appeared scarcely larger
than the bird in her talons.

I have observed this species during the winter
in the neighbourhood of the coast at Pagham and
Selsey, and on the Downs eastward of Brighton ;
it has been killed near Hastings, Uckfield and
Rye, and has occurred in other parts of the
county. I once met with an immature specimen
at Upwaltham, on the hills between Petworth and
Chichester, as early as October, but this I consi-
der an unusual occurrence. Adult males* are
exceedingly rare, almost all that I have examined
were females or birds of the year, and I have not
been able to ascertain that it ever breeds in this
county.

I cannot refrain from introducing here an epi-
sode illustrative of the sagacity and fearlessness

* In North Wales young merlins are called stone-fal-
cons, a term which Mr. Yarrell informs us should be re-
stricted to the old males. In Sussex* it is generally
applied to male sparrowhawks during the winter.

SNIPES-HOOTING. 119

of this little falcon, as it is the result of my own
observation, although in a part of the British
Islands very remote from that in which I now
write.

Some years ago, when snipe-shooting on a
range of strictly preserved bogs in the west of
Ireland, the merlin was, I may say, my daily com-
panion. I find, by reference to memoranda of
that date, that I commenced operations in the
beginning of November, generally taking the field
about eleven o'clock in the morning, and bagging
on an average from ten to twenty couple of snipes
during the day, besides a few hares, woodcocks and
wild ducks. I well remember the first time the
merlin made his appearance with the obvious in-
tention of sharing my sport. I had just entered one
of those wet moors — surrounded by partially cul-
tivated land — which in favourable weather are
much more productive of sport than the extensive
" red bogs," when a couple of snipe rose near the
margin. Bang, bang, went both my barrels,
and while one bird fell dead, the other, slightly
but perceptibly wounded, ascended to a consider-
able height, and from the direction of its flight
was evidently preparing to drop in a marsh which
I had just left. While my eyes were fixed upon
its movements I perceived a merlin advancing
rapidly towards it, and struggling through the air,

120 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

as if afraid that in spite of its exertions it would
still be too late. The snipe, although wounded,
yet attempted to ascend higher, but finding itself
unequal to the task, yielded, as it were, to the
breeze which was blowing freshly at the moment,
and — contrary to its usual habit — flying down
wind with extraordinary rapidity, seemed to trust
to speed for its escape : but swift as it was, its
enemy was swifter still, and when after the lapse
of a few seconds the two birds had become like
specks in the distant sky, I could perceive that
one of these gradually gained on the other,
touched it, and then both melted into one larger
dot, which slowly descended to the ground. k

" Ah ! " cried my Celtic attendant, " that's the
snipe hawk" — using an Irish word which I now
forget, but which, when interpreted, bore that
signification — " and a brave little chap he is."
Then suddenly turning round, he bestowed a vol-
ley of curses — varied with a few whistles — on a
wild young setter who was galloping incontinently
over the yet unbeaten ground, turning a deaf ear
to all Pat's imprecations, while she treated with
equal disregard the significant movements of old
Pluto, a veteran pointer, who, with stiff tail and
protruded muzzle, was advancing cautiously to-
wards a bed of rushes, and just beginning to
settle down into a comfortable point. I need

A VALUABLE ALLY. 121

hardly tell you that at that moment the hawk was
forgotten for the snipe, and it was not until the
afternoon, in a distant bog, that I again recog-
nized my little friend, the merlin, hovering about,
and every now and then appearing about to leave
us, but as quickly returning, and evidently hang-
ing on in expectation of our starting some of his
favourite game. As for the snipe, they lay like
stones while he continued overhead ; old Pluto
pointed them one after another, even Fan conde-
scended to " back," and I had to kick them up
under the nose of the former, as they sprang
reluctantly from the rushes, and presented a suc-
cession of the most satisfactory shots imaginable ;
which was the more gratifying as they had been
unusually wild during the previous part of the
day. After bagging several, at last one rose at a
considerable distance — quite out of shot — and
away went the merlin after it. We watched the
chase for a long time, both birds appearing
equally matched, but they disappeared before it
came to a close, and the shades of evening soon
afterwards reminded me that I had five miles to
walk home before dinner.

Well, on my return a few days afterwards, there
was the merlin again on the same bog ! I could
perceive him, as I topped a hill which commanded
an extensive view of the country, scudding along

G

122 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

towards us in a joyous sort of flight, as if to say
" you are welcome, I have been waiting for you
a long time, come and begin at once." And truly
he was more confiding than ever, following me
from one marsh to another, and evidently distin-
guishing and appreciating the respective perfor-
mances of man and dog. It was not long before
he discovered that the capture of a wounded
snipe was attended with far less trouble to him
than the pursuit of a sound one, and he soon be-
came so fastidious in this respect as to allow
those birds which were sprung out of shot to
depart without giving chase to them, while he
looked to me to put such a retainer on some of
those which rose near me as should render the
completion of the work an easy matter for him.

When a snipe was killed dead he never med-
dled with it, but if it fluttered and fell at a dis-
tance he would frequently drop on it as it touched
the ground, and begin plucking and devouring it.
I made it a rule never to interfere with him on
such occasions, unless I wished to keep his
talents in reserve for an aerial exhibition, in
which case the nimble-footed Pat would run for-
ward and bag the snipe as quickly as possible,
before the little hawk had fairly commenced his
meal ; although when he perceived our intention
he would generally succeed in carrying it to some

A NEW CONFEDERATE. 123

distance, expostulating all the time, with loud
and angry shrieks, at what he evidently considered
a breach of our compact.

After my third or fourth visit to those bogs the
merlin was always there to receive me, and was
subsequently joined by a companion, a female,
both of them continuing to attend me in all my
snipe-shooting expeditions on that side of the
country. Sometimes, at the very commencement
of the day's sport, I might perhaps be unaccom-
panied by my little friends, but the first report of
my gun was generally sufficient to summon one or
both of them to my presence, and a wounded
snipe, however slightly touched by the shot, had
no chance of escape from their united efforts.
First one would rise above it in a succession of
circular gyrations — for he was unable to ascend
in such a direct line as the snipe — then he would
make a swoop, and if he missed, his companion,
who in the mean time had been working upwards
in a similar manner, would next try her luck, and
in this manner they would pursue the quarry, un-
til the persecuted bird, unable to ascend higher or
any longer avoid the fatal stroke, was at last clutch-
ed by one of the little falcons, while the other would
hasten to " bind to it," and all three descend to-
gether into the bog. After a performance of this
sort an hour would occasionally elapse before the

G2

124 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

return of either of the merlins — sometimes more,
sometimes less — but they never seemed willing to
give up the sport until at least three snipes had
fallen to their own share.

The jack-snipes (Scolopax gallinula), which
were tolerably abundant, but which I seldom con-
sidered worth shooting, used to endeavour to
evade the deadly stroke of the merlin in a very
different manner from that adopted by the com-
mon or " full " snipe, as it is there termed, and
with far greater success. Difficult to spring at all
times, it was almost impossible to start this cun-
ning little fellow from the heath when his enemy
was on the wing : indeed, without the co-opera-
tion of Pluto the attempt would have been utterly
futile ; but when the steady gaze of that infallible
quadruped continued to be rivetted on a particu-
lar bit of ground, on every inch of which you had
already trod except the very one under his nose ;
then might you have staked your existence that
on that identical spot a jack-snipe lay squatted,
and when at last discovered and started, instead
of flying boldly away and endeavouring to escape
by power of wing, this little fellow would perform
a puzzling zig-zag sort of movement for forty or
fifty yards, utterly mystifying the merlin, and then
suddenly dropping on the ground, would defy us

PARTING FROM OLD FRIENDS. 125

all — except Pluto — to discover his whereabouts
again.

I shall never forget my last day's snipe-shoot-
ing there, or my farewell look at the merlins. I
may say, without affectation, that I parted from
them with sincere regret. They had been my
companions for more than two months, had not
only shared my sport, but had added very mate-
rially to it, by affording me a contemplation of
theirs ; and they convinced me that a friendly, if
not a familiar intercourse might be established
between man and many wild animals which now
shun his presence, without any greater sacrifice
on his part, than the simple observance of that
golden precept,

" Live and let live."

126 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

LETTER XII.

" Un manant au miroir prenait des oisillons,
Le fantome brillant attire une alouette."

LA FONTAINE.

Netting and Killing Larks near Brighton — Two Modes
— Autumnal Migration — " Chasse au miroir " — De-
scriptive Sketch — Lark-netting in the Winter —
Mode of Capture — Dark Nights — " Experientia
docet"

THERE are two modes of killing larks in the
neighbourhood of Brighton which are worth
noticing. The one lucrative, and adopted by
professional birdcatchers ; attended moreover
with a certain degree of labour and hardship,
and requiring some skill and perseverance :
the other a comparatively idle occupation, or
amusement, and as repugnant to the feelings of
the true sportsman, as are the piscatory achieve-
ments of a punt-anchored cockney to the salmon-
fisher of Connemara ! Nevertheless, as an indul-
gence in this pastime is very general during three
or four weeks in the year, and as it involves the
consideration of a peculiar instinct or habit in the

LARK-GLASS. 127

bird itself, I feel tempted to give you a brief de-
scription of it.

The soi-disant sportsman provides himself with
a certain implement called a lark-glass, which
may be fashioned in different ways according to
the taste or whim of the fabricator. The follow-
ing is a rough sketch from a highly approved
article of this kind — a regular syren in its way —
which had lured many thousands to their doom.

A piece of wood about a foot and a half long,
four inches deep, and three inches wide, is planed
off on two sides so as to resemble the roof of a
well-known toy yclept a Noah's ark, but more
than twice as long. In the sloping sides are set
several bits of looking-glass. A long iron spindle,
the lower end of which is sharp and fixed in the
ground, passes freely through the centre ; on this
the instrument turns, and even spins rapidly when
a string has been attached and is pulled by the
performer, who generally stands at a distance of
fifteen or twenty yards from the decoy. The
reflection of the sun's rays from these little revolv-
ing mirrors seems to possess a mysterious attrac-
tion for the larks, for they descend in great
numbers from a considerable height in the air,
hover over the spot, and suffer themselves to be
shot at repeatedly without attempting to leave the
field or to continue their course.

128 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

It is during the autumnal migration of the larks,
which generally commences about the 20th of
September and continues until the end of Octo-
ber, that this mode of warfare is in vogue. The
direction taken by the larks in this periodical
flight is exactly the reverse of that observed by
almost all the warblers at the same season, being
from east to west, and a moderate breeze from the
latter point, accompanied by sunshine, ensures
what is called "good sport" by those who can
find amusement in this occupation. The fields in
the neighbourhood of the coast on both sides of the
town, are haunted by various parties of shooters
from the hour of sunrise until ten or eleven
o'clock, about which time the great flights of
larks cease or diminish, and there is no small de-
gree of competition among the performers for
what are considered the best places ; four or five
parties sometimes occupying one field, and as
many shooters being attached to one lark-glass :
but notwithstanding the crowd, and the noise of
voices mingled with the continual roar of guns,
the infatuated birds advance stupidly to their
doom, hover in numbers over the decoy, and pre-
sent the easiest possible mark to the veriest tyro
that ever pulled a trigger.

To any one, however, witnessing it for the first
time, the spectacle is sufficiently curious. Per-

CHASSE AU MIROIR. 129

haps at this moment, the shooters, having all
re-loaded during a pause in the battle, are await-
ing the approach of the next detachment. The
newly arrived stranger casts his eyes about and
sees heaps of the dead and dying, but nothing as
yet on the wing to explain the meaning of all
those anxious, upturned glances that he notices
around him. Presently a voice exclaims " Here
they are, look out !" and a cluster of dark specks
becomes visible at a great distance. In a few
moments he perceives that this is a flock of
larks : but surely it is not possible that they will
notice that miserable toy which is now spinning
rapidly, urged by the frantic exertions of a
gentleman in bright yellow gaiters and bran-new
shooting-coat, crossed with a virgin shot-belt,
who pulls the string violently with one hand
while with the other he wields his full-cocked gun
as carelessly as if it were a shillelagh ! He is mis-
taken : they suddenly descend with rapidly closed
pinions, to within a few yards of the very spot
where he stands, or perhaps to a rival lure in the
same or in an adjoining field, and hovering over
it in apparent delight and admiration, patiently
suffer themselves to be shot at, and massacred in
considerable numbers.

The birds thus killed are comparatively lean
and worthless, not fetching, in the market, within

G 5

130 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

fourpence a dozen of the price usually demanded
for those which are taken by lark-nets during the
winter months.

I must now say a few words on the latter mode
of capture, as practised in the neighbourhood of
Brighton, where these birds form a very consider-
able article of traffic, and hang in numerous
bunches at all the poulterers' stalls in the town
and market. The season is from October to
March. A net is provided about twenty-five
yards long, and from sixteen to eighteen feet
wide, with meshes of about an inch and a half in
diameter ; this net is strengthened by eight lines
of a stronger cord, which cross it longitudinally at
regular intervals, and terminate at both ends in
large loops, which project a few inches beyond the
net itself. Through these loops a long and tough
pole is passed at either extremity, and the perfor-
mers, two of whom are necessary, each grasping
a pole with both hands, pull in opposite directions
so as to stretch the net to its utmost; then,
standing face to face, and suffering one end
of each of their poles to touch the ground, while
the other is inclined forwards, at an angle of
about forty -five degrees, in the direction towards
which they are about to advance, they commence
operations by sweeping the ground until a bird is
felt to flutter in the net, when it is immediately

LARK-NETTING IN THE WINTER. 131

suffered to fall, and the prisoner secured. Some
attention to the direction of the wind is necessary ;
if possible, it should pass obliquely ; if it were to
blow directly into the net, it would cause it to
bag too much, and resist their progress ; and if
from behind, it would carry the middle portion too
much forward, and moreover alarm the birds pre-
maturely.

Dark nights are necessary for this work ; stub-
ble and clover fields and meadows furnish the
best supply of larks, but the respective value of
each of these localities depends on the previous
state of the weather, and in this the old wary net-
ter has a great advantage over the beginner, who
frequently toils through many a cold night in vain,
until dear-bought experience at last places him
among the knowing ones of his calling. If the
previous day has been wet, larks are not found in
wheat stubbles, but in thick rank meadows, and
along the higher brows of grassy fields, where
they lie very close until touched by the lower
edge of the net. In fine weather the reverse of
this occurs ; meadows would then furnish but
little sport, for the larks collect in the stubbles,
and are taken in great numbers, although they
do not lie so close as in the former situations.
Strange to say, during the prevalence of storm
and rain the exposed side of a hill is usually pre-

132 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

ferred to the sheltered; and in the little low
valleys, where one would expect the birds to con-
gregate at such a time, the lark- catcher would toil
in vain.

No bird is so easily netted as the lark ; he
generally starts from the ground just before the
lower edge of the net touches him, and invariably
mounts perpendicularly. This characteristic pro-
pensity to ascend at once may be observed by
any person who " treads up " a lark in a field, and
satisfactorily illustrated by releasing, at the same
moment, a newly captured lark and a sparrow
from a cage or hat within the precincts of a room.
While the sparrow will fly off horizontally, dash
himself against the window, and lie almost stun-
ned from the shock, the lark will almost always
mount upwards to the ceiling, and flutter there
for a time, in vain efforts to reach the sky,
before he attempts any other mode of exit : but
this habit is fatal to him in the netting season ; he
might generally escape, as indeed the bunting —
or clod-bird — the sparrow and the linnet con-
stantly do, by flying straight forward ; but ascend-
ing, as he does, directly from the ground, the
moment his wings have touched the upper part of
the net, it is suffered to drop suddenly, and his
capture is then inevitable.

133

LETTER XIII.

" More pity that the eagle should be mewed,
While kites and buzzards prey at liberty."

RICHARD III.

Misapplication of the term vulgaris — The Kite a rare Bird
— Its graceful Flight — Occurrence in Sussex — For-
merly abundant in the Weald — Honey Buzzard —
Characteristic Timber of the Downs and of the
Weald — Charlton Forest — Rencontre and Feast
disturbed — The Common Buzzard an uncommon
Bird — The Puttock — Frequent but Erroneous Use
of the Name of " Buzzard " — Anecdote in Point —
The Saddle on the wrong Horse — A Gamekeeper's
Ornithology.

WITH all due respect for the king of the birds,
I cannot but reflect with regret that the quotation
which I have prefixed to this letter is not as
applicable to our own days as to those of
Shakspeare : in fact, the specific term vulgaris,
or common, however appropriate it may have

134 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

been formerly, is now in numerous instances mis-
applied to many of our British birds ; and this
remark will hold good in a general as well as
in a local sense; in most parts of England as
well as in Sussex ; for where is " the common
kite," " the common buzzard," or " the common
bittern " of frequent occurrence now-a-days ?

As to the kite (Milvus vulgaris), I have never
yet been able to obtain a glimpse of it in the wild
state in any part of this county, though I have
seen it many years ago in Oxfordshire, once in
Derbyshire, and occasionally in North Wales. I
never met with it in Ireland, and am not aware
that it has been seen there.

They who have once had the good fortune to
behold this beautiful bird on the wing, have sel-
dom been able to refrain from expressing their
admiration of its surpassingly graceful flight,
coupled perhaps with sorrow, or some stronger
feeling, at the continued persecution which has
almost banished it from the woods of England,
and must ere long effectually extirpate it as an
indigenous species.

I am able to record only two instances of its
occurrence in this county, at least such as I con-
sider authentic. The late Mr. Dodd of Chichester,
an accurate observer, favoured me, some years
since, with a notice that a bird of this kind had

THE KITE. 135

been killed at Siddlesham, on the borders of
Pagham harbour.

In 1843 a kite was shot at and wounded by the
bailiff on the farm of Withdean, about four miles
from Brighton, near the London road ; being
only winged, it was kept alive for some time in a
garden. I had no opportunity of examining it,
either at that time or after its death, as the preser-
vation of the skin had been neglected ; but from
the accounts which I received from persons who
had frequently seen it, and who particularly no-
ticed the forked tail, I have no doubt that it was
an example of that now rare visitor the kite.

I have ascertained that this species was compa-
ratively common in Sussex, about the beginning
of this century. All the old inhabitants of the
weald remember the forky-tailed kite, but I am
sorry to say that among the rural population of
that district its disappearance is not so much a
matter of regret as with ornithologists ; they still
speak of it as the most fearless marauder of the
whole tribe of predatorial birds; and say that such
was its partiality for juvenile poultry, that having
once favoured any particular farm yard with a
domiciliary visit, its attentions were sure to be
continued, unless shot or trapped in the interim,
as long as a single young chicken remained to
follow the hens :

136 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

" * * Le Milan, manifeste voleur,
Eut repandu 1'alarme en tout le voisinage,
Et fait crier sur lui les enfans du village."*

The honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus) is of
course here, as everywhere else, a scarce bird;
but decidedly less so than either the kite or the
common buzzard. Being nowf only an acci-
dental visitor from the southern and south-eastern
parts of the continent, and generally during the
latter portion of the summer and autumn, it has
escaped the exterminating process which has so
long been in force against all our indigenous birds
of prey, and I may say that a year seldom elapses
without the occurrence of a specimen in this
county. I had once an opportunity of observing
the honey buzzard in the wild state ; it was in
the month of August, 1843, when riding through
Charlton Forest, which extends over a consider-
able portion of the Downs to the north of Good-
wood. Here the character of the scenery is very

* La Fontaine.

f White of Selborne tells us that a pair of honey buz-
zards built their nest, during the summer of 1780, on a
tall, slender beech tree in a hanger near his residence. I
have not been able to discover that it has ever bred in
Sussex, or in the adjoining county of Hampshire, since
that period.

CHARLTON FOREST. 137

different from that of the weald. In the latter the
oak is predominant, and the surface of the ground
is covered with dense thickets of underwood,
chiefly composed of the same tree mingled with
masses of blackthorn and hazel, while in the more
open parts of that region the undulating surface is
covered with heather, fern and gorse, and the
holly vies with the oak in forming those detached
and broken clumps which add so materially to the
picturesque effect of such scenery. But Charlton
Forest is almost exclusively composed of beech
trees, whose tall and naked stems rise to a consi-
derable height from the mossy ground, and then,
spreading out into a net-work of branches and
foliage, form a canopy overhead almost impene-
trable to the rays of the sun.

When riding through its glades on a fine au-
tumnal evening, you might almost fancy yourself
carried back to the days of Robin Hood, and
expect every instant to see a goodly buck dart
across your path, followed by the outlaw himself
and " his merry men " in hot pursuit.

I was indulging in some such reverie of " the
olden time," when my attention was attracted by
the appearance of a large raptorial bird about
thirty yards off, apparently devouring its prey at
the foot of a beech tree. So intently was it occu-
pied, that it either did not remark or disregarded

138 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

my approach, until I had advanced sufficiently
near to perceive that it was a honey buzzard in
the act of tearing up the soil above a wasp's nest,
which it had discovered in an angle formed by
two of the exposed horizontal roots of the tree;
when, desisting from its work, it ran rapidly for
ten or fifteen yards, and then rising with apparent
reluctance, sailed away on noiseless wing down
one of the open alleys of the forest, keeping near
the ground like the hen-harrier, until I lost sight
of it behind a little hill at the farther extremity of
a long vista.

I should imagine this to have been an immature
bird, the state of the plumage, as far as I could
observe, corresponding with Mr. Jenyns's descrip-
tion of the young of the year, the head and upper
parts being variegated with white spots ; but
indeed such extraordinary variety of plumage
does the honey buzzard present, that I have
never yet seen two specimens which exactly re-
sembled each other, having no rival in this respect
among British birds, except that feathered harle-
quin of the fens, the ruff.

The generic characters of the honey buzzard,
which appear to have been first appreciated by
Cuvier, are sufficiently obvious in a recently killed
or in a preserved specimen ; but even at the dis-
tance at which I observed this bird when on the

HONEY BUZZARD. 139

ground — although too far to perceive the feathered
lore, the reticulated tarsi, or the partially curved
claws — there was something about its manner
and bearing which was remarkable. Instead of
the hop of the sparrowhawk or the leap of the
falcon, and the erect bearing of those birds, its
mode of progression was a rapid run, after the
manner of a lapwing, the head being at the same
time partially depressed ; and altogether there
was an humble and subdued look about it which
was quite sufficient to distinguish it from the more
martial members of the family.

One or two specimens of the honey buzzard
were obtained some years ago in the neighbour-
hood of Arundel, but I am unable to record any
very recent instance of its occurrence on the
south side of the Downs. It would appear to
prefer the more central and northern parts of the
county and the forest range of the weald. There
are two Sussex-killed examples in the possession
of Mr. William Borrer, of Cowfold. One of these,
which was shot in September, 1845, on Poyning's
Common, is of very remarkable plumage ; the
upper part of the head, the wings and the tail
being of a dark brown, and all the rest of a beau-
tiful creamy white or light straw-colour: and a
specimen in my own collection, which was
obtained during the autumn of 1841, between

140 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

Henfield and Horsham, both in aspect and the
general state of the plumage has very much the
look of a gigantic cuckoo when viewed at a
moderate distance.

In the forest of St. Leonard a bird of this spe-
cies has also been shot by Mr. Aldridge's game-
keeper, and it has been met with occasionally still
further to the eastward, between Ashdown Forest
and the borders of Kent.

The common buzzard (Buteo vulgaris) is far
more rare ; I have never been able to meet with
it among the woods where it was once a well-
known species, nor have I as yet succeeded in
obtaining one within the limits of the county.* I
have, however, examined a few recent examples
which had been shot in Sussex, and seen a few
cabinet specimens which were so highly prized
by their possessors as to be unattainable. It
would appear to be even more scarce in other
parts of England. Mr. Waterton speaks of it as
extinct in Yorkshire. He says, "In 1813 I had
my last sight of the buzzard ;" and the Rev. R.
Lubbock, in his ' Fauna of Norfolk,' considers it
equally rare in that county. He thus writes : —

* I have lately received a Sussex-killed specimen, which
was shot in December, at Stanmer Park, by Mr. Libbeter,
the son of Lord Chichester's bailiff.

COMMON BUZZARD. 141

"The common buzzard (Buteo vulgaris] is in
these days anything but a common bird. Old
books of Natural History speak of it as the most
common of hawks. It is so no longer, its size
and sluggish habits expose it to observation, and
consequent destruction. It used frequently to
breed in this county in the larger woods, but
what few specimens now occur seem to be occa-
sional stragglers in the autumn, and birds of the
year."

There is no doubt that this bird was formerly
very numerous among the great oak woods of the
weald of Sussex, and many of the aged inhabi-
tants of that district have told me that they
remember "the puttock" as well as the "forky-
tailed kite"* in the days of their youth, but that
the former was the more common species. The
surname of "Puttock," which here signified "buz-
zard," is of frequent occurrence among the fami-
lies of the labouring population in the western
portion of the weald, in the neighbourhood of
Kirdford and Billinghurst, where the characteris-
tic simplicity and many forms of expression
derived from their Saxon ancestors still prepon-
derate to a great degree.

* In some counties the kite and the buzzard were indis-
criminately called puttocks. Vide Yarrell.

142 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

In other parts of the county the ring-tail — or
female hen-harrier — is indiscriminately called a
buzzard or a kite, and the various stages of plu-
mage observable in the male of this bird and its
congeners, in their progress to maturity, appear
to have originated as many imaginary species.
The fact is, that in the good old times when all
these hawks abounded in the land, so little atten-
tion had been paid to the study of Natural
History, that specific distinctions were exceed-
ingly vague and obscure ; a slight resemblance in
colour being frequently considered a greater proof
of affinity between two individuals than similarity
of form and structure : and this error, increased
by the ever-varying state of the plumage in imma-
ture birds of this family, gave rise to a host of
provincial names, which in most cases have sur-
vived the ordinary occurrence of the species to
which they were originally applied ; and the
mysteries of which — with oral tradition alone for
a guide — none but an ornithological QEdipus
could ever hope to unravel.

About two winters ago, I had been shooting
during the greater part of a bright, frosty day with
a friend on one of the wild beats in the weald, and
after a good, old fashioned, fagging day's sport,
in which pheasants, woodcocks, hares and rabbits
had contributed in fair proportions to our bag, we

TYBURN-TREE. 143

were returning to the farm where our horses had
been put up in the morning, with a team of tired
spaniels lagging at our heels, and had just reached
the extremity of a large cover, when my eyes
rested on the form of a green woodpecker, nailed
against an old oak tree, among several rows of
jays and magpies, which encircled the trunk,
while the lifeless forms of sundry stoats and wea-
sels, and here and there the swollen body of a
vagabond cat dangled from the boughs around.

The sight of this beautiful and even useful bird
— the woodpecker — condemned along with the
ordinary felons of the game calendar, and exhi-
bited, in terrorem, on the same Tyburn-tree,
seldom fails to excite my indignation, and to elicit
something warmer than a blessing on the head of
the executioner; but happening to be, on the
present occasion, in a particularly good humour
with the keeper, as is apt to be the case when the
sport has been good and " the powder straight," I
quietly expostulated with him, and endeavoured
to prove the manifest cruelty of placing the wood-
pecker on his black list, by pointing out the really
insectivorous habits of the bird. To do him jus-
tice, he listened patiently for a time, until warming
with my subject, I endeavoured to include jays in
my " bill of indemnity," when his patience gave
way, and I soon perceived that I had sunk very

144 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

considerably in his estimation. Why, I might as
well, he assured me, attempt to defend "that 'ere
buzzard-hawk that he trapped last night." "Buz-
zard-hawk !" I exclaimed, " 1 see nothing like a
buzzard, or even a hawk, on yonder tree, except
the wings and tails of a few kestrels that flutter in
the breeze under their featherless skulls ; and
they, too, have no right to a place in this Golgo-
tha, for they do not hurt the game." "No,"
replied he, "he is not there, but at the farther
end of the wood, where I trapped him, and where
he now hangs from the branch of a tiller :* he
was the plague of my life last summer, and took
more young pheasants from under the coops than
all the other varmint put together."

"Oh!" said I, "you mean the sparrowhawk."
"Oh no !" he "know'd that chap too, well enough,
but it wa'nt he." So to satisfy my curiosity, and
perhaps obtain a recent specimen of a rare bird —
which, indeed, any individual of the Falconida
larger than the sparrowhawk has now become — T
bade adieu to my friend, and returned with the
keeper to a distant part of the wood which we had
just quitted. As we threaded our way through
the narrow, tortuous paths, or shooting roads, that
wound through the thickest parts of the cover, I

* A young growing tree.

A GAMEKEEPER'S ORNITHOLOGY. 145

had ample time for conjecture as to the species of
the promised prize. I should have concluded
that it was a female of one of the harriers, were it
not that these birds, sufficiently rare in all locali-
ties, had never, to my knowledge, been observed
in this thickly-wooded portion of the weald, and
that even in the more open and moorland parts of
the country where they have occasionally oc-
curred, their depredations were of a less deter-
mined character than those ascribed by the keeper
to the bird in question ; but just as I had almost
succeeded in persuading myself into the belief
that it might, after all, turn out to be a real
buzzard, the voice of my companion interrupted
my reflections, and looking up, I saw him point-
ing exultingly to — a large female sparrowhawk,
which hung from the extremity of a branch, one
of the slender shoots of which had been twisted in
Jack-Ketch fashion round the neck of the bird.

I need hardly add that my attempts to rectify
the error under which he laboured were lost upon
this uncompromising exterminator of winged ver-
min, or that I failed to convince him that his
"buzzard-hawk" was in reality the lawful partner
of what he contemptuously termed "the little chap
with the red breast." To do him justice, however,
he was a zealous, though unenlightened member
of his calling, looking upon the preservation of

146 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

pheasants and partridges as " the whole duty of
man," and the massacre of every other species of
native bird, larger than a thrush, as the highest
effort of human genius.

PETWORTH RAVENS. 147

LETTER XIV.

" Fortunate senex, hie inter flumina nota,
Et fontes sacros, frigus captabis opacum."

VIRGIL.

Petworth Ravens — Expulsion — Gamekeeper's Strategy —
Return — Hollow Beech Trees — Colony of Jackdaws
The Skirmish — Mob Routed — Unexpected Abdica-
tion— Stronghold Demolished — Periodical Departure
— Early Lessons^— The Raven's Clump — Retreat
Discovered — Rape of the Squabs — Disappearance of
the old Birds — Plunderer Detected — The Lost Heir
Restored — Result.

THERE are few circumstances which have
afforded me greater pleasure, or which, on re-
flection, I regard with more complacency and
satisfaction, than my success in advocating the
cause of the raven in this neighbourhood, and
even in converting those who were once his
enemies and persecutors into his friends and
admirers.

For many years the raven had here been but
little known. This might in some measure have

H2

148 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

been attributable to the gradual disappearance
from our great woods of most of the tall old trees
on which he loved to build, and perhaps to the
absence of that superstitious veneration with
which this bird is still regarded in some districts
of England ; but more especially to the hostility
of the gamekeeper, in whose black book he once
occupied a prominent place.

During ten months out of the twelve you may
now find a pair of ravens in Petworth Park : per-
chance, if the sky be clear, you may perceive them
soaring aloft, at such a height as would almost
ensure their escape from observation, were it not
for their joyous and exulting barks, which, in
spite of the distance, fall distinctly on the ear ; or
if the weather be wet and gloomy, you may see
them perched on the summit of one of the huge
hollow oaks in the flat of the park, the crooked
and withered branch on which they sit projecting
like the horn of some gigantic stag from the dense
foliage ; or perhaps you may find them concealed
in their snug retreat among the evergreen boughs
of a clump of Scotch firs near the tower hill,*
their favourite haunt during the last five years,

* From the summit of the tower there is one of the
finest panoramic views in the county.

EXPULSION. 149

and where they now appear to be permanently
established.

But to return. Their expulsion from this
neighbourhood, many years ago, was as follows.

A pair of these birds had built their nest on a
lofty tree in the park, and as a matter of course
were discovered by one of the keepers. Suffering
them to remain unmolested during the period of
nidification, he waited until, deceived by his
Machiavellian policy, the ravens treated his ap-
pearance, even when armed, with comparative
disregard. Ill did he repay their misplaced con-
fidence ! One day, when the period had nearly
arrived at which an addition to the family was to
be expected, and the eggs were in his opinion
"sot hard," a rifle-bullet directed through the
bottom of the nest stretched the female bird life-
less within it ; and shortly afterwards, her partner,
who had been catering for her at a distance, was
saluted on his return with a volley of shot, which
laid him quivering at the root of the tree, and
completed the success of the functionary, who in
those days used to perform among the feathered
tribes the triple duties of judge, jury and execu-
tioner.*

*To the honour of the fraternity let me, however,
record the following facts. Some years ago, a pair of
ravens used to breed annually in Burton Park, disappear-

150 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

Years passed away, and the raven continued
unknown in this part of West Sussex, until one
day in March, 1843, when riding in the park near
a clump of tall old beech trees, whose trunks had
been denuded by time of all their lower branches,
my attention was suddenly arrested by the never-
to-be-mistaken croak of a raven, and the loud
chattering of a flock of jackdaws.

I soon perceived that these were the especial

ing from the neighbourhood when the young were fledged,
but always returning in the ensuing spring.

The head keeper, better acquainted, it would appear,
with the habits of birds than persons of his calling are apt
to be, afforded them every protection. He had discovered
that they were his best friends. Not a hawk, weasel, or
indeed any winged or four-footed animal vulgarly desig-
nated " vermin," was suffered by the ravens to approach
the wood in which stood the tree containing their nest.

Although pheasants and hares abounded in the imme-
diate vicinity, neither these nor their young were ever
molested by the ravens. Their foraging expeditions were
carried on at a distance, and their food consisted almost
entirely of the decomposed flesh of dead animals, or in
default of this of rats, and young rabbits procured at the
warrens among the Downs.

This state of things was not to continue. In an evil
hour the nest was robbed. All the young ones were
taken. The old ravens disappeared, and have never since
returned to their former abode.

COLONY OF JACKDAWS. 151

objects of his hatred and hostility ; for after dash-
ing into the midst of them, and executing several
rapid movements in the air, he succeeded in
effectually driving them to a considerable dis-
tance from his nest. During this mano3uvre the
superior size of the raven became more apparent
than when viewed alone, and his power of flight
was advantageously exhibited by comparison with
that of his smaller congener. The latter, indeed,
seemed to bear about the same relation to him in
point of size that starlings do to rooks when seen
together.

The raven's nest was placed in a fork on the
very summit of one of the highest of these trees,
while their hollow trunks were tenanted by a
numerous colony of jackdaws. Some of the holes
through which these entered were so near the
ground that I had no difficulty in reaching them
when on horseback, while others were situated at
a much greater height. These conducted to the
chambers in which the nests were placed, and
which were generally far removed from the exter-
nal aperture by which the birds entered their
tower-like habitation.

On thrusting my whip upwards into many of
these passages, I found it impossible to touch the
further extremity, while a few cavities of smaller
dimensions were within reach of my hand, and

152 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

contained nests constructed of short, dry sticks,
some of which were incomplete, while in others
one or two eggs had been deposited.

The next day I returned to the place on foot,
provided with a spy-glass, for the purpose of ob-
servation. On my arrival I found that the ravens
were absent, and that the jackdaws, availing them-
selves of this, had congregated in considerable
numbers, and were as busily employed about
their habitations as a swarm of bees ; some car-
rying materials for the completion of their frail
and yet unfinished nests, others conveying food
to their mates, and all apparently making the
most of their time during the absence of their
tormentor.

There being no cover or brushwood at hand,
and the branches being yet leafless, I was unable
to conceal myself effectually, but having sat down
at the foot of the tree containing their nest, I
awaited the return of the ravens.

Nearly an hour elapsed before the arrival of the
male bird, and I was first made aware of his ap-
proach by the consternation which it appeared to
spread among the jackdaws. Like most animals
under similar circumstances, when conscious of
the approach of danger, they rapidly collected
their forces on a single tree, keeping up all the

SKIRMISH. 153

time an incessant chattering, each bird shifting
his position rapidly from bough to bough, while
the raven, who held some food in his beak, satis-
fied himself on this occasion with two or three
swoops into the terrified crowd, and having routed
the mob he approached the tree in which his nest
was placed.

Before arriving there, however, he evidently
became aware of my presence, and dropping his
prey, which proved to be a rat, he ascended into
the air to a great height, in circular gyrations,
after the manner of a falcon, where he was soon
joined by his consort, and the two birds continued
to soar above my head while I remained there,
uttering not only their usual hoarse croak, but
also an extraordinary sound resembling the ex-
clamation "Oh ["loudly and clearly ejaculated.
At first I could scarcely persuade myself that it
proceeded from the throat of either of the ravens,
but my doubts were soon dispelled, for there was
no human being within sight, and after carefully
examining one of the birds for some time with my
glass, I observed that each note was preceded by
an opening of the beak, the distance, of course,
preventing sight and sound from being exactly
simultaneous.

In the following year the beech grove was de-
serted for the fir clump. I shall never forget my

H5

154 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

delight on discovering their new retreat near the
tower hill during the spring of 1844. It could be
equalled only by the disappointment I had previ-
ously experienced after paying several fruitless
visits to their old quarters in the valley. With
what different feelings was their abdication re-
garded by the jackdaws as soon as "the great
fact " was satisfactorily ascertained ! Although
broken sticks in abundance lay around, with
ample means for constructing the shallow plat-
form on which they deposited their eggs in the
interior of the hollow trees, yet nothing would
suit them but the materials of the raven's nest, a
general attack upon which seemed to be the order
of the day. The work of spoliation had com-
menced before my arrival, and was completed
within a week. Loud and merry were the notes of
the noisy republicans as they demolished piece-
meal the stronghold of their tyrants, and even
seemed to vie with each other in their anxiety to
construct their own obscure tenements from its
ruins. It was like the attack of a mob on a royal
residence, and the erection of a village of cabins
from the debris of a palace.

After rearing their young, the ravens and their
family generally disappear for a short time during
the summer. They then seek an open country
without trees or human habitations, where, com-

THE RAVEN'S CLUMP. 155

paratively secure from sudden surprise, they in-
culcate in their offspring early habits of indepen-
dence, and appear to superintend their education
in the art of flying.

When fully able to shift for themselves the
young family are left to their own resources, and
the original proprietors of the eyrie return to the fir
clump, and haunt the park throughout the greater
portion of the year. During very severe weather,
accompanied by frost and snow, the raven is sadly
puzzled to procure an honest subsistence in this
neighbourhood : he is by nature a scavenger, not
a poacher ; his structure entirely adapts him for
fulfilling the duties and satisfying the wants of
the former calling. Unprovided with hooked
beak or prehensile claws, he seeks not to attack
any living creature as long as a dead animal
remains on the surface of the earth. Then,
indeed, his hard, conical bill, his keen sense of
smell, piercing sight, and goule-like appetite,
stand him in good stead, but if, during long-
continued frost, he should happen still to lin-
ger for a while in this neighbourhood, he looks
the very picture of despair, as in pensive attitude
and with muffled plumage, his dusky figure may
be noticed perched on some withered bough.
Then, indeed,

" Othello's occupation's gone,"

156 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

and in his hour of need he may occasionally
be convicted of crimes which are foreign to his
nature ; but this rarely happens. On such emer-
gencies the ravens almost invariably migrate to the
sea-coast, where they subsist on dead fish and
Mollusca, to which several species of the Corvi-
dce appear to be equally partial, and which induce
the carrion and the hooded crows to desert their
inland haunts for the shores at low water, the
mouths of the tide-rivers, and the muddy creeks
of Chichester harbour.

In their new quarters the ravens now reign
unmolested, the nest itself being concealed from
ordinary observation among the evergreen boughs
near the summit of one of the tallest trees, so as
to escape the notice of the wayfarers who traverse
Upperton Common, or pass along the high road
which here skirts the ivy-covered park wall.
Nay, even within the precincts, where these birds
and their establishment are now held sacred,
those who occasionally visit the spot for the ex-
press purpose of " having a look at the ravens,"
are generally disappointed as they mount the
steep hill and approach the clump, at seeing no-
thing of either of the birds, and at the apparent
desertion of the place : but they are quickly un-
deceived. The short and angry barks of the
male are first heard as he emerges from the dark

RETREAT DISCOVERED. 157

boughs ; then — if the young have been hatched
— he is soon joined by the female, and both con-
tinue to soar round the heads of the strangers,
gradually increasing their distance until they
reach a considerable height, and occasionally
varying their usual hoarse cry with the singular
note to which I have already alluded. Their re-
treat is therefore, as I have said, secure from
ordinary observation ; but what nest can escape
the scrutiny of an Argus-eyed school-boy, espe-
cially if his cranium should present a development
of the true ornithological bump ? Soon after the
ravens had taken up their quarters here, a truant
youth, wandering over the Common, with his
empty satchel on his shoulder, caught a glimpse
of one of the old birds, marked him down into the
clump, and having satisfied himself by an exceed-
ingly rapid process of reasoning that its abode
was there, and that the discovery and appropria-
tion of its contents would repay him for the perils
of the adventure, he scaled the wall, climbed the
tree, robbed the nest, deposited four "squabs" —
all that it contained — in his book-bag, and
escaped undiscovered with his prize.

Imagine my feelings, when, on visiting the fir
grove a few days after this occurrence, I could
find no trace of either of the old ravens ! At first
curiosity was succeeded by suspicion, then sus-

158 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

picion by anxiety, and at last anxiety by convic-
tion that something untoward had occurred ; but
on entering the clump the whole truth flashed
upon me at once : splinters of short, brittle
boughs, on which the climber had attempted to
rest his feet as he ascended the tree, lay around,
mingled with portions of the lining, which was
composed of the hair of the fallow deer. Could
the robber have taken all the young birds ? So
to put an end to suspense, I mounted to the nest,
clutched one of the branches immediately beneath
it, raised myself up, and eagerly peeped into the
interior. Empty ! Not a bird, not a feather
within it ! Nothing but deer-fur and fledge-dust !
What was to be done ? If even one squab had
been left there would still have been room for
hope that the attempt to protect the raven in his
native haunts might possibly not have turned out,
as now, an apparent failure. Another week
elapsed, during which all inquiries — and they
were many and searching — after the lost ones
were unattended with success. I now visited the
clump every day, but my ears were no longer
gladdened by the welcome bark of the parent
birds. Ring-doves and starlings roosted in the
branches of the trees, and even the spiteful jack-
daw, who had hitherto kept at such a respectful
distance, now chattered among the boughs, as if

THE LOST HEIR RESTORED. 159

he could not resist the temptation of having a look
at the nest, with a view to appropriating a portion
of it to his own use on a future occasion.

Well, at last the young birds were discovered,
half starved, in the possession of their original
captor, who willingly delivered them up. It was
proposed to rear them in a state of domestication,
and the operation of clipping their wings had
already been performed on three of them, before
the idea occurred to me that, even yet, "at the
eleventh hour," it was just possible that the resto-
ration of the remaining perfect bird to the nest
might have the effect of attracting the attention of
either of the old ones if they should happen to re-
visit the neighbourhood. Although but a "forlorn
hope," the attempt was worth the trial. It was
late in the evening, I remember, when I put it in
execution, and the next morning found me again
on my way to the fir clump. Impatient to learn
the result of my experiment, yet entertaining only
a shadowy belief in the possibility of its success,
I hastened to the park. Scarcely venturing to
raise my eyes as I ascended the slope, I listened
attentively, but no sound indicated the return of
my absent friends. However, the scene soon
changed, and amply was I repaid for all my pre-
vious care and anxiety, on perceiving, as I topped
the hill, both the old ravens issuing from the trees,

160 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

and flying round my head just as if nothing had
happened. I could hardly believe my eyes. It
was true, nevertheless : my experiment perfectly
succeeded : the young bird was safely reared :
the ravens have since brought up several families
in the same nest: and as this little episode in their
biography has served to increase the interest
taken in their welfare by those who have now
fortunately the disposition as well as the power
to protect them, I trust that they may long live
in peace and security, and that if any lover of
the picturesque or admirer of our native birds
should hereafter visit the tower hill during "tryst-
ing time," he may never find " the raven's clump"
untenanted.

SHOOTING IN SUSSEX. 161

LETTER XV.

" It is the rarity and difficulty of attainment of a bird
that renders the acquisition of it desirable to the true sports-
man."— OAKLEIGH SHOOTING CODE.

Shooting in Sussex compared with that in other Countries
— The Black Grouse— Its Decline— The Pheasant—
Ring-necked Pheasant — Probable Origin — Pied Va-
riety— Whether to be encouraged or not — The Phea-
sant the Farmer's Friend — The Common Partridge
— Red-legged Partridge — The Quail — Partridge-
shooting on the Hills — View from the Downs —
Pheasant-shooting in the Weald — Woodcock-shooting
on the Downs — A Day's Wild Sport.

NORFOLK may boast of her battues ; her woods
teeming with hares and pheasants ; her flat mono-
tonous turnip-fields, where a shooting party can
march backwards and forwards all day, and slaugh-
ter their hundreds of partridges without ever quit-
ing the same enclosure. Scotland and Wales
have their steep mountains and craggy glens,
their grouse and woodcocks ; and Ireland her
trackless bogs, wide -spreading loughs, and unri-

162 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

vailed snipe and wild-fowl shooting; but although
a day's work in even the best preserves of Sussex
would not produce such a list of killed and
wounded as in some of the countries to which I
have referred, or require such self-denial, hard
fagging, and exposure to cold and rain, as in
others, yet from the varied nature of the sport and
scenery it frequently affords a combination of their
greatest charms, in as high a degree too as ought
to satisfy the aspirations of any keen and reason-
able sportsman.

The battue, however, is almost unknown, for al-
though the estates of some of the large landed
proprietors — especially in West Sussex — are well
stocked with game, yet generally speaking, the
broken and irregular character of the country,
which imparts to it so many charms, forbids at the
same time the concentration of such a mass of vic-
tims in one spot as is necessary to gratify that
morbid love of slaughter which is supposed to
be the chief characteristic of the modern dandy
gunner.

I will now proceed to give you some account of
our feathered game and sport. In certain parts of
the forest range the black cock (Tetrao tetrix) is
still to be met with. I have seen a few in the
neighbourhood of Crawley, but I am sorry to say
that the numbers of this, the only indigenous

THE PHEASANT. 163

grouse of which we can boast, are fast diminishing,
notwithstanding the laudable efforts of some spi-
rited preservers on whose manors these birds are
strictly "tabooed," and where a grey hen is almost
as sacred as a fox in Leicestershire ; but for black
game, swampy ground is as necessary as the glen
and the heather, and moor after moor is enclosed,
marsh after marsh is reclaimed ; the species is fast
diminishing in number, while the area of its dis-
tribution becomes gradually more circumscribed,
and a few years will probably witness its total dis-
appearance from among us.

The pheasant is, however, more fortunate, and
may be said to be naturalized throughout the
whole range of the weald. There, great oak
woods, and thick copses of hazel and blackthorn
supply it at once with a favourite food* and a safe
asylum, and while the impracticable nature of that
region tends to baffle the efforts of those light-

* The partiality of pheasants to acorns is well known.
Gamekeepers in the weald declare, and with perfect truth,
that it is impossible to keep these birds from wandering
during what they call " a great year for acres," barley and
even beans then losing all their former attractions. At
Bedham, on the estate of a friend of mine in this neigh-
bourhood, there now stands a goodly row of oak trees
which were raised from a handful of acorns taken from the
crop of a single pheasant.

164 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

fingered gentry who are adepts in wiring and snar-
ing, the more adventurous night poacher must
console himself with but few shots, at great inter-
vals of time and space, and moreover possess an
accurate knowledge of the country to enable him
to escape detection, and to secure such a booty as
will repay him for the hours mis-spent, and the
risks encountered in this precarious and unseason-
able occupation.

The ring-necked variety, which is common
enough in some parts of the county, is less fre-
quently met with in the weald. Its origin may
probably be attributed to the introduction of the
Chinese species (Phasianus torquatus), which,
breeding freely with the common pheasant (Pha-
sianus Colchicus), became gradually intermixed
with it, but possessing less vigour and robustness
of constitution, its characteristic plumage was gra-
dually absorbed by its congener, and it has be-
queathed nothing but the imperfect ring of white
feathers to its descendants.

Pied pheasants are not uncommon, particularly in
the neighbourhood of preserves, where the system
of rearing poults from eggs hatched under domes-
tic hens has been pursued during many successive
seasons. I confess that I am no admirer of these
parti-coloured birds, for I regard this aberration
from the true plumage as the unfailing sign of

THE FARMER'S FRIEND. 165

incipient domestication. They are, however, said
to be in great request with the poachers, and some
doubt exists among gamekeepers as to the ex-
pediency of preserving or destroying them. Those
who advocate the former alternative, regard the
simple fact of their surviving the season as a proof
that their beat has escaped the attentions of the
nightly marauder; while the supporters of the latter
assert that the mere knowledge of their where-
abouts must always prove a dangerous attraction.
For my own part, if I thought that a compromise
could be safely entered into with those slippery
sportsmen, to whom knocking birds off their roost
can afford

delight

On a shiny night,

In the season of the year,"

I should like to see them have a day all to them-
selves for the express purpose of exterminating
these poultry -looking pheasants.

What a mistake it is to suppose that the pheasant
is an enemy to the farmer ! True, he may deal
rather unceremoniously with newly sown wheat-
fields, and occasionally retard or frustrate the
labour of the bean-dibbler. He may, without due
regard to conventional usages, even venture to an-
ticipate the work of the sickle, and commence his

166 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

gleaning operations a week or two before the legiti-
mate time ; but this can happen to an injurious ex-
tent only in very highly preserved districts, where
those checks have been removed from the spe-
cies which indeed Nature has placed upon the
excessive increase of all animals. But unfor-
tunately the agriculturist, smarting under a sense
of these partial injuries, is too apt to overlook the
real benefits conferred on him by the pheasant.
During the greater part of the year he is his active
friend, devouring immense quantities of insects,
which in their larva state are so injurious to both
green and cereal crops. These principles are
inculcated in their earliest education, and you
cannot accuse the matron of setting them a bad
example. At this season they are all decidedly in-
sectivorous. Look at that group of pheasants —
Why do they so assiduously turn over the dead
leaves under those tall trees ? The acorns and
beechmast have long since disappeared, and the
keeper has ceased to scatter the beans or barley
with which he was wont to supply them regu-
larly during the winter. Why does the mother
bird lead her little family to the small ant-hills, or
beneath the spreading boughs of the oak which
swarm with the leaf-destroying caterpillars ? — and
why do troops of cock pheasants issue from the
woods after a wet night and haunt the neighbour-

THE COMMON PARTRIDGE. 167

ing meadows, slowly advancing step by step,
examining every tuft of grass, and patiently
" darning " the field for hours together ? Be as-
sured for nothing but worms and insects. And
then what myriads of that scourge, the wireworm,*
do they not consume !

For nine months of the year they are thus use-
fully employed, and if you were to kill and dissect
a pheasant during that period, the contents of his
crop would satisfy you that his condemnation is
unjust, and that, on the whole, he is rather the
friend than the foe of the agriculturist.f

The common partridge (Perdix cinerea) is

* This destructive insect is the larva of one of the click-
beetles (Elater segetis).

f How much it is to be regretted that the study of En-
tomology has not been rendered more subservient to practi-
cal purposes by those who have devoted their time and
talents to this fascinating pursuit ! But there is no rule
without an exception. Witness the recent publication of
the * Letters of Rusticus of Godalming,' under the able
editorship of Mr. Newman. With much valuable matter
relative to other branches of Natural History, tin's work
contains by far the best account extant of those insects
which are injurious to vegetation, and known by the name
of " blight ; " while the descriptions are not less remark-
able for their accuracy than for their popular style and
graphic power. Every farmer as well as naturalist ought
to possess this interesting volume.

168 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

found in almost all parts of the county, but ap-
pears to be more abundant on those portions of
the lower green-sandstone formation, in the west-
ern division, where the cultivation of the turnip
obtains — as in the neighbourhood of Rogate, Mid-
hurst, and Petworth — than elsewhere. They are
numerous during certain seasons in even the most
thickly-wooded parts of the weald, and appear
equally partial to the arable land among the val-
leys of the Downs.

Two coveys of the red-legged partridge (Perdix
rufa] were hatched and reared under domestic
hens in July, 1841, and turned down on a manor
in the parish of Kirdford, in the weald of Sussex.
They were observed in the same neighbourhood
for nearly a fortnight, after which they suddenly
disappeared. During the following September a
small covey was sprung near Bolney, about twenty
miles farther west, and a brace shot. These were
probably the remnant of the Kirdford birds in-
stinctively performing the autumnal migration.*

I rejoice to say that this species is not indi-
genous to Sussex. Many a Norfolk and Suffolk
sportsman has to suffer for the sins of his fathers,

* The Rev. J. Lubbock in his ' Fauna of Norfolk ' con-
siders the red-legged partridge a migratory bird even in
some parts of that county.

THE QUAIL. 169

who unwittingly introduced this foreign plague into
their ancestral domains. Some portions of those
counties are fortunately exempt from them, while
in others they have increased to such a degree as
to expel the old English or cinereous partridge,
and being excessively wild and difficult to flush,
they run before the dogs for miles, and severely
test the patience and temper of the sportsman.

The quail (Coturnix vulgaris) is only an autum-
nal migratory visitor to Sussex. I never met with
a bevy in any part of the county, although I have
occasionally killed a few stragglers when partridge -
shooting in September. In some districts of
England they would appear to be comparatively
numerous, and in Ireland I have found them abun-
dant in the King's county during the winter.
They appeared partial to backward oat-stubbles
on poor swampy soils just verging on the borders
of the great red bogs. After the first flight they
generally lay well : the grand point was to drive
them towards the bog, and if possible to scatter
them over its surface. What capital sport they
then afforded in combination with snipe, plo-
ver, teal, and wild ducks, the natural denizens of
the swamp, which usually contributed to my bag
on such occasions !

On certain portions of the downs of Sussex the
pursuit of the partridge partakes almost of the

170 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

nature of grouse shooting. Nothing can be done
without active and well broken dogs, experienced
markers, and downright hard fagging.

Perhaps you commence operations by beating a
large barley or oat-stubble — a sure find during the
early morning — having previously placed a couple
of markers on the hills on either side, so as to
command a view over the main valley and the lesser
combes. The partridges seldom lie well in the stub-
bles, but springing before the dogs can obtain apoint,
fly over the nearest brow, and drop either in a pro-
mising clover field, or perhaps in a " shaw"* higher
up the hill. Two guns enjoy this sport to perfec-
tion. Separating at one end of the plantation, tak-
ing up the pointers, and putting a couple of steady
old spaniels into the cover, the birds are frequently
flushed one by one, and, as they spring screaming
from the brushwood, fly rapidly forward, or dash
hurriedly over the heads of either of the shooters.

Then, when some wild and almost unapproach-

* Shaw, (Scua, Saxon) ; a long narrow strip of wood or
copse, suffered to remain as a fence, or division between
two fields. On the richer soils, where the modern system
of farming prevails, these primitive but beautiful fences are,
I am sorry to say, being grubbed up every day, while in
the greater portion of the weald they still exist, affording at
once a harbour for game and the best shelter for cattle dur-
ing stormy weather.

PARTRIDGE-SHOOTING ON THE HILLS. 171

able covey, after having been patiently pursued
from field to field, from brow to brow, yet never
completely lost sight of, shall at last have been
fairly worn out by the zeal and perseverance of
the sportsman and his valuable coadjutors, the
dogs and the markers, what a glorious half-hour
commences ! On such occasions the affrighted
birds make for the summits of the Downs, and
either drop among the beautiful groups of juniper
bushes which stud the smooth surface of their
steepest sides, or else " carry on " to the heathery
and broken ground beyond, where you are well
repaid for an up-hill pursuit of a mile or two by
quartering the ground quietly with your setters,
and, if you please, bagging the whole covey one
after the other. You need have no qualms of
conscience, no misgivings about hurting the breed
for next year. There lies one of the greatest
charms of partridge - shooting in this district.
Many coveys are bred on the summits of the
hills which never descend to the valleys, and
which, on a preserved manor, such as I speak of,
are of themselves sufficient to ensure an adequate
supply for the shooter be he ever so keen and
persevering. But without real work nothing is
to be done. Many a knight of the trigger have I
seen disgusted at what he called the scarcity of
game on these Downs, the excessive wildness of

172 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

the coveys, and their interminable flights ; and
often have I seen others who fancied themselves
rather "knowing" in such matters, but whose
experience had been limited to the thick wheat-
stubble and the prolific turnip-field, regularly
"choked off" after the second or third hill had
been surmounted, just perhaps as a marker,
perched on the summit of a distant beech tree,
was in the act of telegraphing the delightful fact
that a covey had dropped among the junipers half
a mile higher up.

And if you are a lover of the picturesque, what
a magnificent scene is spread before you, as you
pause for a moment from your successful toil,
after having fairly run your game to ground on
the heathery summit of one of these lofty Downs !
The very air that you breathe, fresh from the alti-
tude of the spot, and mingled, as it is, with the
sea-breeze, is far more exhilarating than any arti-
ficial compound which your flask can furnish.
Down after Down swells around you, their smooth
sides dotted with the evergreen holly and juniper,
or varied with larger patches of golden gorse,
while the steep slopes which bound the interme-
diate valleys are clothed with hanging beech-
woods, whose irregular forms relieve the undula-
ting outline of the Downs, and the rich and
varied tints of the autumnal foliage are blended

VIEW FROM THE DOWNS. 173

into that beautiful harmony of colours which
Nature alone can combine.

Looking towards the south, the sea, although at
the distance of several miles, is spread before you
like a mirror, studded with coasting vessels and
fishing smacks, and perhaps now and then an
Indiaman, or ship of war beating up Channel for
the Thames. On the extreme right is a cloud-
like, but well-defined object standing out from
the distant horizon. This is the Isle of Wight.
In the middle distance the tall spire of Chichester
cathedral shoots up from the plain, and the long,
winding creeks and estuaries in its neighbourhood
are all distinctly visible, as the rays of the sun are
brightly reflected from their waters ; while stretch-
ed below, between you and the sea, the flat culti-
vated tract, which extends from the south-western
borders of the county as far as Brighton, spreads
to the right and left, and as your eye wanders
along the dark line of the coast, you may, if the
weather be clear, take in, almost at one view,
more than fifty miles of its extent, including the
Isle of Wight on the west and the dimly-seen
cliffs of Newhaven on the east.

Nothing is so fatal to the breed of partridges
on the hills as a cold, wet spring and summer.
These birds pair early, and the nest is frequently
placed in a bleak and exposed situation. Here,

174 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

if the weather be unpropitious, numbers of eggs
are sure to be addled or unproductive; while even
those young birds that are successfully hatched
are weakly, and many of them perish by constant
exposure to damps and chills. Scarcity of water
seems to have no injurious effect on the partridge,
and much less than is generally supposed even on
the pheasant, for there are no streams and but few
sheep-ponds on this portion of the Downs. I
have invariably found that whenever the months
of April, May, June and July have been unusually
dry, amounting even to drought, feathered game
has been proportionably prolific and the num-
bers abundant during the ensuing shooting season.
The morning and evening dews seem to afford
sufficient moisture, and whatever inconveniences
this excessive aridity may occasion them, they
would appear to be comparatively trifling when
we notice the fatal results of a cold, wet summer.
This remark applies equally to other districts and
soils. Experienced sportsmen, and octogenarian
keepers who have wielded the protectoral baton
on the same manor half their lives, and actually
grown grey in pheasant-lore, all agree that the
drier the summer the better for the game.

I have said nothing of the battue and the
crowded preserve. They are but little patronized
in Sussex. There are of course a few exceptions,

PHEASANT-SHOOTING IN THE WEALD. 175

but these only serve to prove the rule, and in
point of massacre fall far short of an ordinary
Norfolk performance.*

How different is the pursuit of the pheasant
with the aid of spaniels in the thick covers of the
weald, or tracking him with a single steady setter
among some of the wilder portions of the forest
range ! — intently observing your dog, and antici-
pating the wily artifices of some old cock, with
spurs as long as a dragoon's, who will sometimes
lead you for a mile through bog, brake, fern
and heather, before the sudden drop of your
staunch companion, and a rigidity in all his limbs,
satisfy you that you have at last compelled the
bird to squat under that wide holly-bush, from
whence you kick him up, and feel some little
exultation as you bring him down with a snap-
shot, having only caught a glimpse of him through

* A friend of mine has favoured me with the following
report of four consecutive days' work during last Novem-
ber, on a well-known manor in Norfolk. His brother,
who was one of the party, furnished the bulletin.

Head.

1st day 7 guns 564

2nd day 5 guns (in an outlying cover) 187

3rd day 8 guns 738

4th day 6 guns ... 626

Total . 2115

176 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

the evergreen boughs, as he endeavoured to escape
by a rapid flight at the opposite side of the tree.
And then the woodcock-shooting in November
— I must take you back once more to my fa-
vourite Downs. With the first full moon during
that month, especially if the wind be easterly or
the weather calm, arrive flights of woodcocks,
which drop in the covers, and are dispersed among
the bushy valleys, and even over the heathery sum-
mits of the hills. If it should happen to be a pro-
pitious year for beech-mast — the great attraction
to pheasants on the Downs, as is the acorn in the
weald — you may procure partridges, pheasants,
hares, and rabbits in perhaps equal proportions,
with half a dozen woodcocks to crown the bag.

The extensive, undulating commons and heaths
dotted with broken patches of Scotch firs and hol-
lies on the ferruginous sand north of the Downs,
afford — where the manorial rights are enforced —
still greater variety of sport. On this wild ground,
accompanied by my spaniels and an old retriever,
and attended only by one man, to carry the game,
I have enjoyed as good sport as mortal need desire
on this side of the Tweed. Here is a rough sketch
of a morning's work.

Commencing operations by walking across a tur-
nip-field, two or three coveys spring wildly from
the farther end, and fly, as I expect, to the adjoin-

A DAY'S WILD SPORT. 177

ing common, where they are marked down on
a brow thickly clothed with furze. Marching to-
wards them with spaniels at heel, up jumps a hare
under my nose, then another, then a rabbit. I re-
load rapidly, and on reaching the gorse " put in "
the dogs. Whirr ! there goes a partridge ! The
spaniels drop to the report of my gun, but the flut-
tering wings of the dying bird rouse two of his
neighbours before I am ready, and away they fly,
screaming loudly. The remainder are flushed in
detail, and I succeed in securing the greater part
of them. Now for the next covey. They were
marked down in that little hollow where the
heather is longer than usual — a beautiful spot !
But before I reach it, up they all spring in an un-
expected quarter; that cunning old patriarch at
their head had cleverly called them together to a
naked part of the hill, from whence he could
observe my manoeuvres, and a random shot sent
after him with hearty good will proved totally in-
effective.

Now the spaniels are worming through the thick
sedges on either side of the brook which intersects
the moor, and by their bustling anxiety it is easy
to see that game is afoot. Keeping well in front
of them, I am just in time for a satisfactory right
and left at two cock pheasants, which they had
hunted down to the very edge of the water before

i 5

178 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

they could persuade them to take wing. Now for
that little alder coppice at the further end of the
marshy swamp. Hark to that whipping sound, so
different from the rush of the rising pheasant or
the drumming flight of the partridge ! I cannot
see the bird, but I know it is a woodcock. This
must be one of his favourite haunts, for I perceive
the tracks of his feet and the perforations of his
bill in every direction on the black mud around.
Mark! again. A second is sprung, arid as he
flits between the naked alders a snap-shot stops his
career. I now emerge at the farther end, just
where the trees are thinner than elsewhere. A
wisp of snipes utter their well known cry and scud
over the heath ; one of these is secured. The rest
fly towards a little pool of dark water lying at
a considerable distance on the common, a well-
known rendezvous for those birds. Cautiously
approaching, down wind, I reach the margin. Up
springs a snipe j but just as my finger is on the
trigger, and when too late to alter my intention, a
duck and mallard rise from among the rushes and
wheel round my head. One barrel is fortunately
left, and the drake comes tumbling to the ground.
Three or four pheasants, another couple of wood-
cocks, a few more snipes, a teal or two and half a
dozen rabbits picked up at various intervals, com-
plete the day's sport, and I return home, better

A DAY'S WILD SPORT. 179

pleased with myself and my dogs than if we had
compassed the destruction of all the hares in the
county, or assisted at the immolation of a perfect
hecatomb of pheasants.

SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE

BIRDS OF SUSSEX.

A SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE, &c.

ORDER BAPTOKES.— Family FALCONID.E.

GOLDEN EAGLE, Aquila chrysaetos. Page 38.

WHITE-TAILED EAGLE, Haliceetus alUcilla.
Has occurred occasionally in the immature state.
Page 36.

OSPREY, Pandion hali&etus. Specimens of this
bird have been obtained in different parts of the
county. Page 44.

PEREGRINE FALCON, Falco peregrinus. Breeds
in a lofty precipice at Beachy Head ; also at
Newhaven cliff: is seldom seen in the weald.
Has been observed more frequently in other parts
of the interior, principally during the autumn and
winter. Page 106.

HOBBY, Falco subbuteo. A summer visitor.
Partial to wooded districts, where it generally oc-
cupies the deserted nest of a carrion crow. Sel-

184 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

dom found in the more open parts of the county.
Page 112.

MERLIN, Falco Msalon. A winter visitor, but
very partially distributed. Unlike the hobby, it
prefers the exposed heaths and naked Downs to
the weald. Page 116.

KESTREL, Falco Tinnunculus. But moderately
dispersed during the breeding-season. Occasion-
ally found among large woods, where it deposits
its eggs in the old nest of a crow or magpie.
Many may be observed at the same time of year
along the line of chalk cliffs between Brighton and
Beachy Head. They are still more plentiful far-
ther eastward, between Hastings and Rye. As
autumn approaches they gradually become more
abundant in all parts of the county ; congregate near
the coast preparatory to their departure for a more
southern region. Comparatively scarce during
the winter. Re-appear about February in dimi-
nished numbers. Page 51.

SPARROWHAWK, Accipiter nisus. Common in
wooded districts during the summer. The sexes
separate in the winter. Page 64.

KITE, Milvus vulgar is. No longer indigenous
to Sussex. Was formerly well known in the
weald. Has occurred once near Brighton, and
once at Siddlesham, within the last ten years.

FALCONID.E. 185

COMMON BUZZARD, Buteo vulgaris. One of our
most uncommon birds. Page 1 40.

ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD, Buteo lagopus. An
accidental winter visitor to the south of England,
but much less rare than the so-called common
species. During very hard weather a sprinkling
of these stragglers from the north is always found
on our shores, either near the inlets of the sea
south of Chichester, the marshy tracts of meadow
land at the mouths of the navigable rivers, on
Amberley flats, or on Lewes Levels. An example
of this bird in my possession was trapped at Bos-
ham, in January, 1839. It was disturbed in the act
of devouring a rabbit which it had just killed, and
a fragment of its prey being used as a bait, the
poacher was secured on the following morning.

During that severe winter I examined four re-
cent specimens of the rough-legged buzzard, all
of which were obtained in the south-western part
of the county, and I received intelligence that
others had been shot about this time near Shore-
ham and Pevensey, and even on some of the wild
commons in the interior, but I can record no in-
stance of its having been observed among the
great woods of the weald.

It has also occurred at Falmer, arid at Ashburn-
ham Park ; and Mr. W. Borrer, of Cowfold, informs
me that a specimen was killed at Henfield, on the

186 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

18th of October, 1841 — an unusually early period
for its arrival — in the act of seizing and carrying
off a partridge which had just been shot.

HONEY BUZZARD, Pernis apivorus. An autum-
nal visitor. Has been met with in different parts of
the county. Page 136.

MARSH HARRIER, Circus aruginosus. Of un-
usual occurrence in Sussex — even in localities well
suited to its habits — especially in the adult state.
Page 89.

HEN HARRIER, Circus cyaneus. Far more com-
mon than the last. Rare in the weald. Has
been observed more frequently in the western than
in the eastern division. Page 90.

MONTAGU'S HARRIER, Circus Montagui. Has
been occasionally killed, both in the adult and
immature state, in different parts of the county.
Page 89.

Family STRIGID^.

EAGLE OWL, Bubo maximus. Said by Mr. Yar-
rell and Mr. Jenyns — on the authority of Montagu
— to have been shot in Sussex. I can record no
second instance of its occurrence in the wild state.
There has been for many years a magnificent liv-
ing collection of eagle owls at Arundel Castle.
Here, occupying the extensive area bounded by

STRIGIM. 187

the rock-like walls of the old Donjon keep, they
exist in but partial captivity, and have lately even
fulfilled the first law of Nature, "Increase and
multiply." Page 91.

SCOPS-EARED OWL, Scops Aldrovandi. Has oc-
curred once, near Shillinglee, the seat of Lord
Winterton. Page 94.

LONG-EARED OWL, Otus vulgaris. Moderately
distributed throughout the weald and in the neigh-
bourhood of fir woods, but its numbers have de-
creased considerably of late years. Page 93.

SHORT-EARED OWL, Otus brachyotos. An autum-
nal or early winter visitor from the north. Is
regarded as the harbinger of the woodcock. First
appears on open heaths and commons, and in
narrow plantations of Scotch or spruce fir. Soon
afterwards met with in stubble and turnip-fields.
Page 94.

BARN OWL, Strix Jlammea. Generally dispers-
ed, but nowhere numerous. Page 95.

TAWNY OWL, Syrnium aluco. Now chiefly re-
stricted to the great oak woods and parks furnish-
ed with hollow trees. May be frequently heard
and seen at Cowdray. Page 92.

LITTLE OWL, Noctua passerina. In July, 1842,
a bird of this species was exposed for sale at
a poulterer's in the Brighton market. It was said
to have been shot in an orchard at Sheffield Park,

188 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

near Fletching. Appeared to be immature, the
plumage being much lighter than that of an adult
specimen with which it was compared. Is now in
the collection of Mr. W. Borrer, of Cowfold, by
whom the above particulars were communicated
to me.

ORDER INSESSORES.-— Tribe DENTIROSTRES.
Family LANIAD.E.

GREAT GREY SHRIKE, Lanius excubitor. Has
been occasionally observed and killed in different
parts of the county. I have not been able to pro-
cure its nest or eggs, or to ascertain that it has
ever been known to breed in Sussex. It has been
obtained at Deeding Levels, Lindfield, Arundel,
and Alderton ; and two were shot near Battle
during the winters of 1846-7.

RED-BACKED SHRIKE, Lanius collurio. Pro-
vincial, Cheater or Cheeter. A very local bird.
Arrives early in May, and affects the whole line
of coast between the Downs and the sea. Very
numerous in the neighbourhood of Bognor and
Chichester. Not infrequent in the eastern divi-
sion, particularly in the maritime portion between
Bexhill and Rye. Is seldom observed to the
north of the Downs in the western division until

MUSCICAPID.E. 189

midsummer, and I have never been able to detect
it on the clays, or among the great woods of the
weald.

Family MUSCICAPID^.

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER, Muscicapa grisola. Not
so common as in many other counties. Seldom
arrives until the latter end of May, but makes the
most of its time, generally bringing up two fami-
lies before it leaves us in the autumn. This
occurred during three successive years in an apri-
cot tree in my garden, to which a pair of these
birds returned regularly every summer, until their
retreat was at last discovered by a prowling cat ;
and the mother, her unfledged little ones, and the
nest itself, were destroyed " at one fell swoop."

PIED FLYCATCHER, Muscicapa atricapilla. A
very rare visitor from the north. A specimen was
shot at Halnaker, in 1837, which is now in the
Chichester Museum, another near Henfield, in
May, 1845, which is in Mr. W. Borrer's collec-
tion ; and a third example in the same year at
Mousecombe, near Brighton, where it had been
observed in a garden for some days before it was
killed.

190 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

Family MERULID.E.

MISSEL THRUSH, Turdus viscivorus. Common
in all parts of the county. Prefers small coppices
and plantations in the vicinity of a house to great
woods during the breeding-season. Such is the
pugnacious disposition of this thrush that two
nests are seldom found in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of each other.

FIELDFARE, Turdus pilaris. A regular autumnal
and winter visitor. In severe seasons is abundant
in all parts of the county, but in open weather
principally affects heaths and commons. I have
known them detained by a backward spring as
late as the 3rd of May, but I never could detect
their arrival before the Jst of November. The
supposed instances of their appearance before
that time have originated in a mistake on the part
of some observers who confounded this with the
last-named species.

SONG THRUSH, Turdus musicus. Common
everywhere.

REDWING, Turdus iliacus. Arrives rather sooner
than the fieldfare. Is less difficult of approach in
severe weather, but leaves us about the same time.

BLACKBIRD, Turdus merula. Abundant ; espe-
cially among evergreens and fir plantations.

RING OUSEL, Turdus torquatus. A passing

SYLVIAD.E. 191

visitor in spring and autumn ; halting for a few
days among the juniper and holly bushes on our
elevated commons and highest Downs.

GOLDEN ORIOLE, Oriolus galbula. A summer
straggler of rare occurrence. Has been twice
killed in the month of May, near Newhaven ; and
two examples are in the possession of Mr. W.
Borrer, which were shot at Alfriston, about four
miles from the last-named port, so that there
seems to be something peculiarly attractive to
this bird in that neighbourhood.

Family SYLVIAD.E.

HEDGE ACCENTOR or HEDGE SPARROW, Accen-
tor modularis. Common everywhere.

REDBREAST or ROBIN, Erylhaca rubecula. As
elsewhere, a well-known and general favourite.

REDSTART or FIRETAIL, Phcenicura ruticilla.
The very partial distribution of this bird is remark-
able. I never could discover it in any part of the
weald of West Sussex. It is even exceedingly rare
to the south of that region on the richer soil of the
lower green sandstone, in the neighbourhood of
Midhurst, Petworth and Pulborough, to the north
of the Rother, which is here a tributary to the
Arun : but on the long belt of ferruginous sand to
the south of that stream it is of frequent occur-
rence, particularly in the neighbourhood of Stor-

192 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

rington, Parham and Steyning, and again at
Henfield. It is common on the alluvial tract to
the south of the Downs between Chichester and
Brighton, is not unusual in the neighbourhood of
Bexhill, St. Leonard's and Hastings, but is only
sparingly scattered over the forest range in the
eastern division of the county.

BLACK REDSTART, Phanicura tithys. This spe-
cies seems to be a winter visitor to Sussex. It
has occurred near Hastings and Chichester, but
more frequently at Brighton than elsewhere. Of
these the greater number have been killed on or
near a large permanent heap of rubbish at Hove,
which would appear to possess some mysterious
charm for these birds. On the 5th of December,
1839, a female was killed there, and another on
the 30th. On the 9th of March, 1840, a male was
obtained on the same spot, and another in 1842.
During the winter of 1847 two were shot in that
neighbourhood by Mr. Swaysland, which I saw
soon afterwards.

On the 16th of October, 1839, a male was killed
in Oriental Place, and in January, 1848, a female
was caught alive in a greenhouse near the German
Spa ; a specimen was also captured in a garden
near the western road, in a nigh tin gale- trap baited
with a worm. All these examples were in full
plumage and good condition.

SYLVIAD^E. 193

STONECHAT or Furzechat, Saxicola rubicola.
Very common on open heaths and gorse-covered
commons. Several remain with us during the
winter.

WHINCHAT, Saxicola rubetra. Provincial, Bar-
ley-ear. Arrives during the early part of April if
the season be favourable. Haunts and habits
similar to those of the last species.

WHEATEAR, Saxicola cenanthe. Numbers arrive
in March, but the greater portion of these proceed
farther north ; comparatively few remaining here
during the breeding-season. Immense flocks ap-
pear on the Downs during the early part of
August, at the period of the autumnal migration,
and quantities are taken by the shepherds in
snares of a very simple description, formed by
slight excavations in the turf, and horse -hair
nooses. The instinct of this bird prompts it, on
the slightest alarm, to run for concealment to the
nearest hole. The observant shepherd, availing
himself of this habit, constructed his infallible
trap ; for a full and accurate account of which,
and of the capture of these birds on the Sussex
Downs between Eastbourne and Beachy Head,
the reader is referred to Mr. YarreH's ' History of
British Birds,' vol. i. p. 256.

GRASSHOPPER WARBLER, Salicaria locustella. Is
very partially distributed, being rare even in some

E

194 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

districts which would appear well suited to its
habits. I have explored many acres of furze and
extensive commons in the weald, without being
able to detect its presence by sound or sight. It
is very rare in the neighbourhood of Brighton and
Hastings, but has frequently been obtained near
Chichester. I know one heathy common about a
mile from Petworth, interspersed with patches of
thorn and gorse, where several pairs of these birds
may be heard every summer ; but although my
patience has often been rewarded by occasional
glimpses of the little feathered chirpers as they
crept, mouse-like, among the stalks of the furze
and fern, I never succeeded in discovering their
nest or eggs.

SEDGE WARBLER, Salicaria phragmitis. Com-
mon where low drains with sedgy banks, or
brooks bordered with thick bushes occur, or
wherever moist and damp situations encourage a
profusion of aquatic herbage.

REED WARBLER, Salicaria arundinacea. Par-
tially distributed, and everywhere less numerous
than the last-named species. Was formerly of
frequent occurrence on Pevensey Levels, but since
the clearing out of many of the reed beds, has
almost disappeared from that neighbourhood.
The same cause has reduced its numbers at Am-
berley, and in most of its favourite haunts. These

SYLVIAD.E. 195

birds and their beautiful nests may, however, still
be found during the month of May in the reedy
ditches a little to the westward of the old wooden
bridge on the Adur, about a mile above Shoreham.

NIGHTINGALE, Philomela luscinia. Abundant
during the summer in woods, copses and hedges,
but perhaps more numerous on the clay soils of
the weald than anywhere else. In this — as an
insectivorous bird — it forms an exception to a
general rule ; every other species of the dentiros-
tral tribe, resident as well as migratory, being,
comparatively, but sparingly distributed in that
district.

BLACKCAP, Curruca atricapilla. Found in
thickets and groves during the summer, but not
plentiful anywhere. Rare in the weald.

GARDEN WARBLER, Curruca hortensis. In its
habits and haunts resembles the last species, but
is certainly of less frequent occurrence.

COMMON WHITETHROAT, Curruca cinerea.
Common.

LESSER WHITETHROAT, Curruca sylviella. In
the neighbourhood of Chichester, Bognor, Pagham
and Worthing, this bird is as numerous as the last
species, and appears even more so ; its garrulous
song and bustling flight at once attracting obser-
vation. It is less frequent to the north of the

K2

196 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

Downs, and seldom seen in the weald, where Cur-
ruca cinerea is by no means of rare occurrence.

WOOD WARBLER, Sylvia sylvicola. A very local
species. I never could obtain a specimen among
the oak woods on the clay soils. Appears to be
equally rare near Petworth, but particularly affects
ihe neighbourhood of Storrington, and the tall elm
trees in Parham Park, from whence I have pro-
cured several examples. It is scarce in the cen-
tral parts of the county, and indeed seems to prefer
dry gravelly soils, where the beech and elm are
more prevalent than the oak. The eggs and nest
have frequently been found in Stanmer Park, the
latter being remarkable for the total absence of
feathers, as a material in the lining of the interior,
which are always applied to that purpose by its
congeners the chiff-chaff and the willow wren.

CHIFF-CHAFF, Sylvia hippolais. Is partially dis-
persed, being of rare occurrence in certain dis-
tricts— as for instance in the neighbourhood of
Shoreham and Beeding, while in others every bush
and copse rings with his merry note.

WILLOW WARBLER, Sylvia trochilus. Is more
numerous and generally distributed, although from
its retired habits and subdued warble, less likely
to attract notice. These three last-named birds,
which now form the restricted genus Sylvia,
strongly resemble each other, especially the two

SYLVIAM. 197

latter. The hue of the legs, however, forms the
best distinction. That of the chiff-chaff's being of
a dark brown, and the willow warbler's of a pale
flesh colour ; while the wood warbler differs from
both in having the upper plumage of a brighter
green, the under parts of a purer white, a distinct
yellow streak over each eye, the tail rather shorter,
and the wings longer in proportion.

DARTFORD WARBLER, Melizophilus Dartfordi-
ensis. Very scarce. Has been obtained by Mr.
Ferryman among some patches of furze near the
Devil's Dyke. A specimen was shot on the 3rd of
May, 1844, on " the Broyl," near Chichester. I
have carefully watched for this little bird when the
fox-hounds have been drawing the great gorse
covers, but could never succeed in detecting it.

GOLDEN-CRESTED REGULUS, or GOLDEN-CRESTED
WREN, Regulus cristatus. Common.

FIRE-CRESTED REGULUS, Regulus ignicapillus.
It would be well that this rare species should be
known by some other name. If it is supposed to
imply a superior vividness of the bright yellow co-
lour, the bird has no higher claim to the title than
its congener the gold-crest ; but the worst of it is
that many persons unacquainted with the most
striking distinction between these closely allied
species, understood it in this sense, and imagine
the adult male of the common golden-crested wren

198 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

to be the fire-king, and the female and immature
birds gold-crests. I have had several examples of
the former shown to me by collectors who were
labouring under this delusion. The most simple
and obvious distinction consists in the three lon-
gitudinal lines on the cheeks of R. ignicapillus,
which are absent in R. cristatus. Of these, one is
black, in which the eye is situated, above and be-
neath which passes a streak of white.

No doubt this bird frequently escapes observa-
tion from its near resemblance to its congener.
On the 3rd of October, 1843, an example was
picked up dead in a garden at Brighton. Another
was shot at Uckfield in October, 1847; and a
third, which is in my own collection, was killed
during the same month near Shoreham.

Family PARID^E.

GREAT TIT, Parus major. Common in every
part of the county.

BLUE TIT, Parus caruleus. Generally dispersed.

COLE TIT, Parus ater. Rare in some localities,
but comparatively numerous in others which do
not seem better suited to its habits. Is of frequent
occurrence in the neighbourhood of Chichester.
Rather scarce about Hastings, and by no means
common among the great woods of the weald. As
there is a general resemblance between the tit-

PARID.E. 199

mouse and the next species, it may be well to
notice an easy method of distinguishing them.
The cole tit has a white spot on the nape of the
neck which is absent in the marsh tit.

MARSH TIT, Parus palustris. This seems also
to be a local species. It does not, as far as
my observation goes, evince any partiality for
swampy ground or the neighbourhood of marshes.
On the contrary, I have found it more numerous
among the large woods that crown the higher por-
tion of the lower green-sandstone formation, where
its northern escarpment abuts on the valley of the
weald, than perhaps anywhere else ; as at Henley
Hill, Bexley Hill, Petshill, Flexham Park and
Bedham. It is also common in Ashdown and Til-
gate forests.

LONG-TAILED TIT, Parus caudatus. Generally
distributed. Abundant among the oak woods of
the weald. The young, when able to fly, accom-
pany their parents, and wandering family parties
of from ten to twelve of these social birds may fre-
quently be noticed throughout the winter, flitting
from tree to tree, uttering their faint indistinct note?
as they climb among the branches and explore
the lichens for minute insects, or curiously pry
into the crannies of the rough bark.

BEARDED TIT, Calamophilus biarmicus. Occa-
sionally found in situations adapted to its habits,

200 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

but is decidedly less numerous in Sussex than
many other counties nearer the metropolis. Was
formerly not unusual in the neighbourhood of
Pevensey, but is now rare, most of the reed-beds
having been removed to admit of the water run-
ning freely through the dykes.

A male and female in my collection were ob-
tained near the ruins of Amberley Castle. A pair
were also shot at Fishbourne, near Chichester, by
a retired military Serjeant of the name of Carter ;
a very successful gunner, who has had the good
fortune to meet with some of our rarest birds
in that neighbourhood.

Family AMPELID^E.

BOHEMIAN WAX-WING, or Chatterer. Boniby-
cilla garrula. Of rare occurrence in Sussex, and
only during very severe snow and frost. In
January, 1848, two of these birds were shot in
a garden at Newtimber, feeding on the berries of
a red haw tree — a variety of the whitethorn which
produces pink or apple-like blossoms and un-
usually large fruit — one of these is in my own ca-
binet. A few years since a chatterer was killed at
Beeding, one at Newhaven, and another near
Shoreham by a person of the name of Dyer.
There is also a specimen in the Chichester mu-
seum which was shot in that neighbourhood.

MOTACILLID.E. 201

Family MOTACILLIOE.

WHITE WAGTAIL, Motacilla alba. An occasion-
al summer visitor, but from its close resemblance
to the pied wagtail, frequently escapes notice. Mr.
Yarrell has enumerated some of their distinctive
characters ; the most striking of which, however,
is the permanent pearl grey or light ash grey of
the whole of the back in the white wagtail, in-
cluding the upper tail coverts, which in the pied
wagtail are invariably dark.

PIED WAGTAIL, Motacilla Yarrelli. Page 81.

GREY WAGTAIL, Motacilla boarula. A regular
winter visitor, but very partially distributed. Fre-
quents the borders of the clear rivulets on the
sandstone formation, and in the vicinity of the
Downs. Is very rare in the weald. Departs for
the North at an early period of the spring. I
once observed a pair of these birds near Woolbed-
ing on the 28th of April. The male had partly
assumed the black plumage on the throat which is
characteristic of the breeding-season. After a
patient observation and diligent search, I was un-
able to discover a nest, or even symptoms of nidi-
fication. On revisiting the spot a few days after-
wards both birds had disappeared.

RAY'S WAGTAIL, Motacilla fiava. Yellow wag-
tail— Provincial, Barley -bird. Known by the

K5

202 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

latter name in the neighbourhood of Brighton,
from its arrival being usually coincident with the
spring sowing of that grain.

Family ANTHID^E.

TREE PIPIT, Anthus arboreus. Styled by the
Brighton birdcatchers " Real Titlark " to distin-
guish it from the next species. Is very nu-
merous at the period of the autumnal migration.
Page 77. />:

MEADOW PIPIT or Titlark, Anthus pratensis.
Page 77.

ROCK PIPIT or Rock Lark, Anthus petrosus.
Although restricted to the immediate neighbour-
hood of the shore, and far from numerous, this
pipit may be observed on various parts of our
coast, and is perhaps as plentiful about Shoreham,
on the low swampy grounds between the high
road and the sea, as anywhere. I have found its
nest near Aldwick and Pagham, among the long
rank grass which clothes the steep banks of the
mud walls, that have been erected to check the
return of the sea among the reclaimed meadows ;
and I once discovered it in a hollow on the face of
a chalk cliff near Rottingdean, a few feet from the
ground. The lower portion of this nest was com-
posed of sea-weed.

EMBERIZIOE. 203

Family ALAUDID.E.

SKY LARK, Alauda arvensis. Page 126.

WOOD LARK, Alauda arborea. Abundant in
the weald, but less numerous in other parts of the
county. Rarely seen on the Downs. Appears to
be more susceptible of cold than the sky lark.
During severe frost vast numbers congregate on
the coast, and are then easily killed.

CRESTED LARK, Alauda cristata. Mr. Yarrell, in
the second edition of his * British Birds,' records
an instance of this lark having been killed in
Sussex.

Family EMBERIZID.E.

LAPLAND BUNTING, Plectrophanes Lapponica.
Of this rare visitor from the North very few
examples have occurred in the British Islands,
and three of these in the neighbourhood of Brigh-
ton. The first was prior to the year 1828, and is
recorded by Mr. Jenyns as the second specimen
taken in England. The second, which is in the
collection of Mr. W. Borrer, was captured in a
lark-net in October, 1846. The third was shot
in November, 1848, near the toll-gate at Rotting-
dean. He sent it to Mr. Swaysland with some
snow buntings, of which species he supposed

204 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

it to be. I saw and obtained this specimen
immediately afterwards.

SNOW BUNTING, Snowflake or Tawny Bunting,
Plectrophanes nivalis. An occasional winter vi-
sitor to the Downs. Not unfrequently taken with
larks during hard weather, but then generally pre-
senting the plumage of the tawny or immature
bird. Out of nearly forty which were captured by
one birdcatcher during a single winter — 1847-48
— only two had the white head, which is charac-
teristic of the adult snow bunting.

COMMON BUNTING, Emberiza miliaria. Provin-
cial, Clod bird. Common in open cultivated dis-
tricts. Less frequent on the Downs, and very rare
in the weald. Plentiful in the neighbourhood of
Brighton and Worthing. Its local name would
appear to be derived from its habit of perching on
a projecting clod of turf or clay in a stubble
or fallow field, while it utters its harsh monotonous
note.

BLACK-HEADED BUNTING or Reed Sparrow, Em-
beriza schoeniclus. Peculiar to marshy tracts and
sedgy swamps.

YELLOW BUNTING or Yellow Hammer, Emberiza
citrinella. Generally dispersed.

CIRL BUNTING, Emberiza cirlus. A very local
bird, affecting the neighbourhood of the coast, but

EMBERIZID.E. 205

seldom venturing many miles into the interior.
Common during the breeding-season in the neigh-
bourhood of Chichester, Bognor, Worthing, and
Brighton, but not met with on the northern side
of the Downs of West Sussex. I have found
its nest in tall quickset hedges. It has been
discovered in the strawberry gardens at Preston
near Brighton, and in Stanmer Park. The nidifi-
cation of the cirl bunting is somewhat later than
that of the yellow hammer, seldom taking place
until May. In winter they are gregarious, and ac-
cording to my own observation they do not con-
gregate with other birds. In February, 1838,
when residing at Aldwick, near Bognor, I noticed
a small flock close to a newly cut hayrick, during
the prevalence of a cold easterly wind. 1 shot
two, a male and a female, and found their sto-
machs filled with hay-seeds. The next day the
weather was mild and the remainder departed.
Then succeeded a piercing north-easter, and they
reappeared in increased numbers at the rick,
but the scanty supply of their favourite food was
soon exhausted or blown away ; so I caused the
loft to be swept, and scattered a few handfuls
every morning at the foot of the stack. This had
the desired effect : the birds remained with me
until the return of mild weather about a week

206 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

afterwards ; and although a few chaffinches and
yellow hammers — uninvited guests — occasionally
obtruded on their little party, yet the cirl bunt-
ings seemed to avoid mingling with them, were
far more tame and confiding, and at last almost
disregarded my presence.

ORTOLAN BUNTING, Emberiza hortulana. Only
two examples of this bunting have been obtained
in Sussex — as far as I can learn. The first, which
is in the possession of Mr. W. Borrer, was shot on
the viaduct of the Brighton Railway, near the ter-
minus. The second, an immature male, was killed
together with some yellow hammers near Shore-
ham, and is in my own collection.

Family FRINGILLID^E.

CHAFFINCH, Fringilla coelebs. Common. I have
not observed that separation of the sexes, at any
period of the year, which some authors have
noticed in other parts of England.

MOUNTAIN FINCH, Fringilla montifringilla. An
autumnal visitor, remaining during the winter and
leaving us again in the spring. Several are cap-
tured on the Downs by lark-netters. Abundant
during protracted snow and frost.

TREE SPARROW or Mountain Sparrow, Passer
montanus. A scarce bird in Sussex, but in all

207

probability has frequently escaped observation
from its general resemblance to the common spar-
row, from which, however, its smaller size, and the
chocolate-coloured head of the male may serve to
distinguish it. It is here a winter visitor, arriving
in October and usually departing in April. Al-
though I have not been able to discover the nest,
yet I have reason to believe that a few of these
birds remain with us during the breeding-season,
as I have received examples, recently killed, in
May and June. In the neighbourhood of Brigh-
ton it is frequently taken by birdcatchers during
the autumn, in company with linnets and redpoles.
It has also been captured in old ivy-covered walls
along with common sparrows, and it has been de-
tected among bunches of the latter species which
have been exposed for sale in the market.

HOUSE SPARROW, Passer domesticus. Abun-
dant everywhere.

GREENFINCH, Coccothraustes Moris. Generally
distributed, but less common in the weald than
elsewhere. Migrates in the autumn. Page 78.

HAWFINCH, Coccothraustes vulgaris. Of uncer-
tain occurrence, being not unusual during some
years, and comparatively rare in others. Is gene-
rally observed about autumn, when haws, cherries
and stone-fruit are in season. Bred in Stanmer
Park during the summer of 1847. The young

208 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

birds, after they had left the nest, frequented the
neighbourhood of the gardener's cottage, and were
all caught by his children in brick traps baited
with peas: these juvenile observers having noticed
that several pods of that vegetable had been pre-
viously shelled by the hawfinches.

GOLDFINCH, Carduelis elegans. Page 79.

SISKIN, Carduelis spinus. Arrives in the au-
tumn. I have frequently noticed it at that season
feeding on the seeds of the alder in company with
the lesser redpole. Congregates, during severe
weather, with linnets and greenfinches. Departs
for the North in the early spring.

COMMON LINNET, Linota cannabina. Common.

MEALY REDPOLE, Linota canescens. Provincial,
Stone Redpole. Appears to have decreased con-
siderably of late years. Was common in the
neighbourhood of Brighton, and especially on
Poynings Common, during one season about fif-
teen years ago. Has been comparatively scarce
ever since. A few, however, are taken every year
by professional birdcatchers. Mr. Yarrell has very
clearly pointed out the specific distinctions be-
tween this bird and the lesser redpole, of which it
was formerly supposed to be merely a variety.

LESSER REDPOLE, Linota linaria.\ Both winter

TWITE, Linota monlium. J visitors, re-

tiring northwards on the approach of spring.

STURNID^E. 209

Partial to the Downs and open country. Rare
in the weald.

BULLFINCH, Pyrrhula vulgaris. Generally dis-
persed.

PINE GROSBEAK, Pyrrhula enucleator. I can
record but two instances of the occurrence of this
rare bird in Sussex. An example was shot a few
years ago near Cotes House, about three miles
from Petworth, while feeding on the seeds of a pi-
naster, by a gentleman of the name of Mellersh,
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.

COMMON CROSSBILL, Loxia curmrostra. An ac-
cidental visitor. In the autumn of 1835 great
numbers of these birds were observed in most of
the pine woods and larch plantations of Sussex.
They were abundant during that year at Salt Hill,
near Chichester, and in the neighbourhood of
Midhurst and Parham. Like the hawfinch, the
crossbill is very uncertain and irregular in its ap-
pearance.

Family STURNID^.

COMMON STARLING, Sturnus vulgar is. Abundant.
ROSE-COLOURED PASTOR, Pastor roseus. A very

210 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

rare straggler. I understand that it has been shot
once in the eastern division of the county, but
cannot ascertain the precise locality. I know of
two instances of its occurrence in West Sussex.
The first was killed at Mundham, near Chichester,
in 1836. The second at Selsey in 1838. The
stomach of the latter contained a great quantity of
the larvae of coleopterous insects.

Family CORVID^E.

CHOUGH, Fregilus graculm. Late writers on
British Ornithology speak of this bird as a deni-
zen of the cliffs of Beachy Head. I regret to
say that it is to be found there no longer. This
was certainly its last stronghold, but it dis-
appeared from the coast about twenty years ago.
I have frequently examined the entire line of cliffs
between Brighton and Eastbourne, but could
never — even with the assistance of a spy-glass —
discover one, or procure a recent specimen in any
part of Sussex.

RAVEN, Corvus cor ax. Page 147.

CARRION CROW, Corvus corone. Page 97.

HOODED CROW, Corvus comix. Page 100.

ROOK, Corvus frugilegus. Abundant.

JACKDAW, Corvus monedula. Plentiful. Page
151.

MAGPIE, Pica caudata. Frequents extensive

PICID.E. 211

woods and fir plantations during the breeding-sea-
son; and congregates, in small parties, on the
Downs and in open parts of the county during
the winter.

JAY, Garrulus glandarius. This beautiful bird
may still be found in all our great woods, not-
withstanding his persecution at the hands of the
keeper. In parts of the weald where the preser-
vation of game is not attended to, the species
is even numerous, and their harsh, wild cry con-
tinually greets you, as you wander among the oak
forests of that region.

NUTCRACKER, Nucifraga caryocatactes. I have
seen a specimen of this rare wanderer which was
shot at Alfriston by Mr. Newman, a gentleman
residing in that neighbourhood.

Tribe SCANSORES. — Family PICID.E.

GREEN WOODPECKER, Picus viridis. Provincial,
Yaffle. Has decreased of late years, but is still far
from uncommon, particularly in the weald.

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER, Picus major.
Provincial, French Woodpecker. Scarcer than the
last, but specimens are procured almost every
year, either in the adult or immature state.

LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER, Picus minor.
Provincial, Little French Woodpecker. By far
the rarest of the three species. A male was shot in

212 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

1844 at Arundel ; another at Albourne in Decem-
ber in 1 848 ; and one was captured at Parham
House, which had flown into a room through the
open window. It has also been killed near Chi-
chester, and occasionally in the eastern division
of the county.

WRYNECK, Yunx torquilla. Provincial, Rind-
ing Bird. One of the few local epithets worth re-
cording.* So termed in many parts of Sussex

t
* I confess that I do not attach so much importance to

provincial nomenclature as it would appear to possess in the
eyes of some persons. The local names in this Catalogue
are but few : they have been culled from a heterogeneous
mass which had accumulated in my note-books, and which
might be supposed to have originated in the Tower of
Babel. I have noticed only such as appeared to be expres-
sive of some quality, or property of, or circumstance relating
to the birds themselves — such as "the barley bird," "the
rinding bird," "the parson gull," "the duck-hawk," &c.
— or those which, seeming sufficiently established by gene-
ral usage in their respective districts to have superseded the
ordinary and recognized names, might therefore be practi-
cally useful to the collector in his enquiries amongst the
natives. But as a general rule, I am strongly of opinion
that these provincial names ought to be discarded from all
works on Natural History. Most of them are quite inap-
propriate, others devoid of point or meaning, and while in
one order of birds the same silly nickname is frequently ap-
plied indiscriminately to every individual in a family, in
another we find a single species honoured with as many

PICID.E. 213

from its appearance in the spring being supposed
to indicate the proper time for felling the oak trees
and remoring the bark or rind from the trunks and
branches, an employment in which a considerable
portion of the agricultural population of the weald
and other woodland parts of the county are en-
gaged at this period of the year. The operation
of " rinding " cannot be attempted until the sap
has begun to flow. Then myriads of minute in-

titles as a German Prince, the signification of which —
when indeed they signify anything — is frequently derived
from some imaginary attribute or peculiarity.

The object of our researches, and of all communications
on this and kindred subjects, ought to be to discover truth,
not to propagate error ; to diffuse science, not to dissemi-
nate barbarism ; and so far from encouraging the country
people in retaining their incomprehensible misnomers, we
should take every opportunity of setting them right, point-
ing out the salient differences of species, and fixing the
proper English names in their minds. We might often
derive much useful and valuable information from such
people as fishermen, shepherds, woodmen, and game-
keepers, which will be either lost to us, or rendered worse
than useless, if we are constantly in danger of being misled
by gross confusion of names ; and this confusion would be
even worse confounded, if the usual designations, accepted
and established by competent authority, should be mis-
applied to other species than those to which such authority
has assigned them.

214 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

sects, which have hibernated in the deepest re-
cesses of the bark, are roused from their winter's
sleep, and move nearer to the surface. These now
constitute the principal food of the wryneck, who
immediately on his arrival sets seriously to work,
and with his long elastic tongue extracts them ra-
pidly from the crevices. His monotonous, hawk-
like cry is anxiously expected by the woodman at
this season.

Family CERTHIAD^E.

COMMON CREEPER, Cerlhiafamiliaris. Gene-
rally distributed.

WREN, Troglodytes Europe/ens. Abundant.

HOOPOE, Upupa epops. Has been killed in
different parts of Sussex, generally near, or within
a few miles of the coast ; and two instances are
on record of these birds having built their nest
and reared their young in the county. One of
these is mentioned by Mr. Yarrell, and the fact is
still remembered in the neighbourhood of Chi-
chester. The other occurred a few years ago at
Southwick, near Shoreham, where a pair of hoo-
poes and their young ones were discovered in
an old hollow tree. The latter lived for some
time in the possession of Mr. Waring Kidd, of
Brighton. In September, 1 839, 1 shot a female of
this species near the beach between Pagham and

MEROPID^E. 215

Selsey, on the borders of a coppice of stunted oak
trees. An adult male was killed soon afterwards
at Itchenor by Mr. Gibbs. I have seen an ex-
ample which was procured at Fishbourne. On
the 19th of April, 1840, a hoopoe was shot near
Rottingdean ; and another on the llth of Septem-
ber in the same year at Ovingdean, near Worthing ;
it has occurred in two or three instances at Alfris-
ton, and it has also been obtained occasionally,
but rarely, in some parts of the interior.

NUTHATCH, Sitta Europcea. Generally dispersed,
but not numerous anywhere. Although some re-
main with us during winter, their numbers are
reinforced by visitors from the continent every
spring.

Family CUCULID.E.

COMMON CUCKOO, Cuculus canorus. May be
heard in all parts of the country after his arrival
in April.

Tribe FISSIROSTRES. — Family MEROPID^E.

ROLLER, Coracias garrula. This scarce and
beautiful bird has been killed occasionally in Sus-
sex. An example was shot by Mr. Tomsett, of
Alfriston, in that neighbourhood ; and another in
July, 1843, on Chinton Farm, near the sea at

216 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

Cuckmere haven, by a person in the employment
of Mr. Scott, of Littlington, near Lewes.

BEE-EATER, Merops apiaster. A specimen of
this rare straggler was shot by serjeant Carter
near Chichester on the 6th of May, 1829.

Family HALCYONID.E.

KINGFISHER, Alcedo ispida. Breeds in deep
holes, on the steep banks of some of the clear
streams on the sandstone formation. Is very rare
during that season in the weald, where the waters
are generally turbid. Frequents salt marshes near
the coast in the winter.

Family HIRUNDINID.E.

SWALLOW, Hirundo rustica. Abundant.

MARTIN, Hirundo urbica. Equally so.

SAND MARTIN, Hirundo riparia. Almost un-
known in the weald of West Sussex, but common
to the south of that district. Most of the large
sandpits in the county are honeycombed by colo-
nies of these birds. It is rare among the Downs,
and of unusual occurrence on the maritime tract
between them and the sea.

COMMON SWIFT, Cypselus apus. Provincial,
Screecher. Abundant. Arrives about the 1st of
May, and leaves us about the middle of August.

COLUMBIA. 217

Family CAPRIMULGID.E.

NIGHTJAR or FERN OWL, Caprimulgus Euro-
pceus. Partially distributed, being very common
during summer in the weald, as well as on open
heaths and gorse-covered commons, but of rare
occurrence in more cultivated and populous parts
of the county.

Order RASORES.— Family COLUMBIA.

RiNG-DovE, Columba palumbus. Common.
Congregates in great flocks during the autumn.
Is very partial to acorns and beech-mast.

STOCK DOVE, Columba anas. I have found
small parties of these pigeons in the autumn and
winter, among the wooded valleys of the Downs.
During summer they are not seen in flocks. They
breed in the hollow trunks of some of the old oak
trees. I have discovered their nest and eggs in
such situations at Cowdray and Petworth.

TURTLE DOVE, Columba turtur. A summer vi-
sitor, arriving in May. Abundant in the oak woods
of the weald. Rare in open parts of the county
at the same season. On the approach of autumn
they frequent fields of rape. After these have been
cut or " fed off," their partiality to salt prompts
them to haunt the sea-shore. They may then be
observed in great numbers on the muddy banks

218 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

near the mouth of Shoreham harbour, and in simi-
lar situations along the coast.

Family PHASIANID.E.

COMMON PHEASANT, Phasianus Colchicus.
Page 163.

Family TETRAONID.E.

BLACK GROUSE, Tetrao tetrix. Page 162.

COMMON PARTRIDGE, Perdix cinerea. Page
167.

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE, Perdix rufa. Page
168.

COMMON QUAIL, Coturnix vulgaris. Page 169.

Family STRUTHIONID^E.

LITTLE BUSTARD, Otis tetrax. On the autho-
rity of Mr. Jenyns I give the little bustard a place
in this Catalogue. Vide ' Manual of British Ver-
tebrate Animals," p. 176.

NOTE. — The Great Bustard, Otis tarda. Markwick
says that the great bustard used to be seen on the South
Downs in his time. White of Selborne also observed it
there. The latest instance of its having been observed in
Sussex appears to be that of a single example, which was
occasionally seen about twenty-five years ago near Blateh-
ington by Mr. Catt, who then occupied that farm. It used
to frequent the flat table-land which runs for a considerable

CHARADRIID.E. 219

Order GRALLATORES.— Family CHARADRIID.E.

GREAT PLOVER, (Edicnemus crepitans. This
bird is known by at least half-a-dozen different
names in Sussex. In some localities it has
usurped the title of the last-named species, and is
confidently termed " the little bustard." This is
unfortunate.

GOLDEN PLOVER, Charadrius pluvialis. Not
unfrequent during winter, particularly near the
coast.

DOTTEREL, Charadrius morinellus. Arrives
about the end of April, on certain portions of the
Downs between Brighton and Beachy Head. Se-
veral are killed every year in the neighbourhood
of Alfriston. Is seen frequently near Hailsham
and Battle. Rare in the western division of the
county. The line of its vernal migration would
seem to be North-west. Does not breed in Sus-
sex. Reappears in September on its return to the
south.

RINGED PLOVER, Charadrius hiaticula. Pro-
vincial, Stone Runner. Common along the coast

distance in the direction of the Dyke. I have met with
many old people, who, in their younger days, have seen
flocks of these noble birds on the Downs.

L2

220 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

during the entire year. Their numbers increase
in the spring, although not so palpably as those of
the dunlins and other Scolopacidce.

KENTISH PLOVER, Charadrius Cantianus. This
bird strongly resembles the last, but its body is
smaller, and its legs much longer. The plumage
is also of a lighter colour. Several arrive for the
breeding-season on Rye Marsh, and on the shores
of Pevensey Bay. Their eggs and young are fre-
quently found on the coasts of East Sussex, but
they migrate southwards in the winter. They do
not congregate with their congeners, the ringed
plovers, but are generally observed either alone or
in pairs. I have never been able to discover it
westward of Brighton, but Mr. Gould says that it
has been killed at Selsey, near Pagham. In the
museum of the Mechanics' Institute at Hastings
are several specimens, adult and immature, which
have been procured in that neighbourhood.

LITTLE RINGED PLOVER, Charadrius minor.
Has been obtained on two or three occasions
in Sussex. The specimen from which Mr. Gould
took his description was killed at Shoreham, and
there is another in Mr. W. Borrer's collection,
which was shot in the same neighbourhood during
the month of May.

GREY PLOVER, Squatarola cinerea. A winter
visitor of by no means ordinary occurrence, except

CHARADRIID.E. 221

during severe weather. Specimens killed in this
county generally present the usual grey plumage,
in which state I have met with this bird at Pagham
harbour. I have received an example shot in
March, near Chichester, which had already as-
sumed several black feathers on the breast.

PEEWIT, Vanellus cristatus. Numerous on
waste lands and heathy commons during the
breeding-season. Congregate in the autumn and
winter, and appear partial to ploughed fields.

TURNSTONE, Strepsilas interpres. Rather a
scarce bird. I have met with it occasionally on
different parts of the coast.

SANDERLING, Calidris arenaria. Not uncom-
mon in the winter, when the upper plumage is of
a very light grey colour and the lower white.
It has been killed occasionally, but rarely, during
the summer : its appearance is then nearly similar
to that of the dunlin : it may, however, always
be distinguished from that bird by its shorter beak,
and by the absence of the hind toe.

OYSTER-CATCHER or OLIVE, Hamatopus ostra-
legus. Is observed on the coast, late in March or
early in April, either singly or in small parties of
two or three. They seem to pass westward, re-
maining with us only about a week or a fortnight.
In September, however, they reappear, accompa-
nied by the birds of the year. As many as thirty

222 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

have been seen together at this season near Shore-
ham.

Family ARDEID.E.

COMMON HERON, Ardea cinerea. Page 14.
Besides the heronry at Parham, there is also a
smaller colony near Hurstmoncieux, on the pro-
perty of Mr. Curteis, M.P.

PURPLE HERON, Ardea purpurea. An example
of this rare heron was shot on the 28th of Septem-
ber, 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.

LITTLE BITTERN, Botaurus minutus. An adult
male specimen of this scarce British bird was
lulled at Pulborough in May, 1842, on the banks
of a pond abounding in aquatic plants, in the gar-
den of the Rev. J. Austin, the rector of that parish,
who kindly presented it to me. To this gentleman
I am indebted for many valuable ornithological
acquisitions procured in his immediate neighbour-
hood.

COMMON BITTERN, Botaurus stellaris. Of less
frequent occurrence than formerly. Is sometimes
met with among tall reeds on the banks of large
ponds and in sedgy swamps, but from the size and
remarkable appearance of the bird, when on the

SCOLOPACID^E. 223

wing, there is little chance, now-a-days, of its re-
maining for any length of time undiscovered or un-
molested. I have seen the bittern flushed from
the reed-beds at the upper pond in Burton Park.

NIGHT HERON, Nycticorax Gardeni. Has been
shot on two or three occasions in Sussex. Mr.
W. Borrer informed me that he examined a recent
specimen, which was killed near Alfriston, in No-
vember, 1839 — a bird of the year. Since that
period another example has occurred near Cuck-
mere Haven.

WHITE SPOONBILL, Platalea leucorodia. A rare
straggler. Has been shot at Rye and at Pagham
Harbour. The Chichester museum contains an ex-
ample which was killed in that neighbourhood,
and a fine specimen in my own collection was shot
near Seaford, in the autumn of 1844.

Family SCOLOPACIDJB.

COMMON CURLEW, Numenius arquata. Abun-
dant during the winter on most parts of the coast.

WHIMBREL, Numenius phceopus. Provincial,
Titterel. Page 8. Is rarely met with in the win-
ter, but arrives about the time that the curlews
depart for their northern summer quarters. Small
flocks of whimbrels may be noticed during the
month of May on the shores of Pevensey Bay, and
in similar situations. I have found them between

224 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

Pagham and Selsey, as late as the middle of
June, but although I have diligently examined
the shingle for miles, I never could discover their
eggs, or ascertain that others had been more for-
tunate than myself. The whimbrels observed at
this period would seem to be the latest arrivals
from the southern parts of the continent — probably
backward-bred birds of the preceding year — and
as they disappear before July, it may be supposed
that they follow the example of their predecessors,
in halting for a few weeks on the shores of Sus-
sex, preparatory to resuming their journey to the
North.

SPOTTED REDSHANK, Totanus fuscus. Has been
killed at Shoreham, in the immature state.

COMMON REDSHANK, Totanus calidris. Not un-
usual on some parts of the coast at the period of
the autumnal migration — the latter end of August
or the beginning of September. Several have
been killed at Pagham, and near the mouths of the
tide-rivers at Shoreham and Newhaven.

GREEN SANDPIPER, Totanus ochropus. Is gene-
rally found during the autumn and winter on the
banks of rivers, brooks and ponds, at a distance
from the sea. Has not been known to breed in
Sussex, but occasionally remains with us during
the summer. In June, 1843, I observed four on
the borders of a pond, through which ran a clear

SCOLOPACID.E. 225

trout stream, at Cocking, near Midhurst ; but I
could not discover a nest or eggs, and the lo-
cal gamekeeper, whose attention I particularly
directed to the subject, was equally unsuccessful.
When disturbed at the pond, these birds used
to retire into the great woods in the immediate
neighbourhood. Suspecting that they might pos-
sibly be examples of Totanus glareola, I procured
one of them in the following July, but on ex-
amination, it proved to be an adult male of Tota-
nus ochropus.

COMMON SANDPIPER, Totanus hypoleucos. A
summer visitor. Rarely found on the shore, but
frequently met with on the banks of inland
streams, among the grassy borders of which the
nest is placed.

GREENSHANK, Totanus glottis. Of less frequent
occurrence than the redshank, but makes its ap-
pearance about the same time. Haunts and
habits similar.

AVOCET, Recurvirostra avocetta. A rare visi-
tor. Small flocks have occasionally been met
with, but the bird has generally been found alone.
Three were killed, out of a party of six, at Pag-
ham Harbour, some years ago ; and another on
the banks of the Adur, above the old wooden
bridge at Shoreham, by Mr. Hampton of Apple-
sham. In February, 1848, an example occurred

L5

226 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

near Hailsham, and on the 1st of September in
the same year, my friend, Captain Shirley, shot a
bird of this species at Lurgashall, about four miles
north of Petworth, and nearly twenty from the sea.
It rose at some distance, from the banks of a large
pond, and continued to fly round his head for
a considerable time in wide but gradually di-
minishing circles. This specimen, which he
kindly forwarded to me immediately, was a bird
of the year.

BLACK-TAILED GODWIT, . Limosa melanura. A
very rare bird in Sussex. I have never seen a re-
cent example, but it has been killed once or twice,
in the immature state, near Amberley ; also on
Pevensey levels and Rye marshes.

BAR-TAILED GODWIT, Limosa rufa. I will ad-
duce this bird as an example of the vernal and
autumnal migrations which I believe to be per-
formed by most of the Grallatores.

In summer there are, perhaps, fewer of the Sco-
lopacidaB in Sussex than at any other period of the
year. About the beginning of September their num-
bers rapidly increase, being reinforced by parties
arriving from their summer quarters in the North,
on their way to the South of Europe. They are
at this time, generally speaking, more abundant
on our shores than at any other, although many of
course remain with us during the winter, and may

SCOLOPACID^E. 227

be found at Pagham, Shoreham, Newhaven, and
in similar localities. Godwits then appear in their
plain grey garb, and are all equally wary and gun-
shy from repeated persecution ; but about the lat-
ter end of March fresh detachments begin to
arrive, the males presenting the gay ferruginous
nuptial attire, for like all spring visitors from
the continent — whether land, wading, or swim-
ming birds — they are much farther advanced
towards the plumage peculiar to the breeding-
season than those which have sojourned here dur-
ing the winter. The dunlins, which arrive at the
same time, have the black breast fully developed.
The curlew sandpiper — or pigmy curlew — now
suddenly appears in his beautiful summer dress,
and the same remark applies to many congenerous
birds.

The practical observer or collector should not
fail to look out carefully for good specimens dur-
ing this brief but golden period. However regular
hitherto his visits to their favourite haunts, yet his
expeditions will have been comparatively fruitless
and unsatisfactory until now, and the first intima-
tion of the arrival of the strangers will probably be
the appearance on some muddy bank, at ebb-tide,
of a little party of confiding godwits, all in the full
breeding-plumage, when perhaps not a single bird
of the same species had occurred on any pre-

228 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

vious day during the season in the same state of
feather.

RUFF, Machetes pugnax. A scarce bird in Sus-
sex, except on poulterers' stalls. I never knew an
adult male killed here during the summer, but
have met with it at Pagham in the winter, when
the plumage resembled that of the female, or
reeve — the ornamental ruff having then disap-
peared. One of the latter was captured in a sin-
gular manner a few years ago near Hove. It flew
into a birdcatcher's net, apparently attracted by
the decoy lark. It was sent alive to Mr. Sways-
land, of Brighton.

In a bird of the year the fore part of the neck
and breast is of a reddish grey, or buff colour, and
in this state of plumage it is sometimes mistaken
for that rare bird, the buff-breasted sandpiper, by
those who have never seen an example of the lat-
ter species. Mr. Yarrell has clearly pointed out
the distinctions.

WOODCOCK, Scolopax rusticola. Abundant in
many of the great woods of Sussex during the
winter. Breeds regularly in some parts of the
weald. At Hollycombe young woodcocks are
found every summer,* and Sir Charles Taylor has

* Vide Jesse's ' Gleanings in Natural History,' vol. ii.
. 184.

SCOLOPACIM. 229

shown me the female bird sitting on its eggs in a
plantation within a few minutes' walk of the house.
The nest is a mere hollow in the ground, lined
with a few dead leaves. I have also seen another
in the act of incubation, in an oak coppice at
Barkfold, near Kirdford. By cautiously creeping
towards the spot on my hands and knees, I suc-
ceeded in approaching within a few yards, and
could see the full black eye of the bird apparently
fixed upon me. When at last sufficiently alarmed
to quit the nest, instead of flying away hurriedly,
she quietly slipped off it, and ran with an almost
noiseless pace for about twenty yards before she
took wing. The eggs, four in number, were sub-
sequently hatched.

GREAT SNIPE, Scolopax major. An occasional
straggler. 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 Brigh-
ton, on the Downs near the race-course, a singular
locality for this bird.

COMMON SNIPE, Scolopax gallinago. Tolerably
abundant in the winter, on moors and extensive
tracts of low meadow land after the subsidence of
great floods.

JACK SNIPE, Scolopax gallinula. Of less fre-
quent occurrence than the last, but not uncom-
mon.

230 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

SABINE'S SNIPE, Scolopax SaUni. So named
by Mr. Vigors — the first describer of the species —
in 1822, in compliment to the late Mr. Sabine,
then the Secretary of the Zoological Club.

On the 5th of March, 1845, Serjeant Carter,
of Chichester, to whose frequent success I have
already alluded (vide Bee-eater), shot a very fine
example of this, the rarest bird, perhaps, in the
world. Tt rose from the banks of a stream
called the Lavant, at Appledram, near Chichester
Harbour. It did not utter a cry like the common
snipe — a fact which coincides with the previous
observation of Colonel Bonham. Only six in-
stances of its occurrence are on record, and all of
these in the British Islands.* I was fortunate
enough to become the possessor of this prize.
The plumage exactly resembles that of the speci-
men in the museum of the Zoological Society in
the Regent's Park, from which the first description
was taken by Mr. Vigors, as well as that in the
possession of Colonel Bonham, shot by himself in
Ireland, which I have since examined. Altogether
it has very much the look of a diminutive wood-
cock, but is of a dark copper-colour, beautifully
mottled with transverse pencillings of a lighter hue:
the top of the head and back of the neck are of a

* Vide Yarrell's ' History of British Birds,' 2nd edition.

SCOLOPACID^. 231

sooty black. In size it is intermediate between
the common and the jack-snipe, but the beak is
even longer in proportion than that of the former,
and the legs shorter. This, of course, is only
intended as a rough sketch of its general appear-
ance : for specific details, the reader is referred to
Yarreirs ' British Birds,' and Jenyns's 'Manual of
British Vertebrate Animals.'

CURLEW SANDPIPER or PIGMY CURLEW, Tringa
subarquata. Has been obtained frequently on the
coast during the autumn and winter. Scarce in
summer.

KNOT, Tringa canulus. Several are killed every
autumn and winter, of the usual light grey colour.
Less frequently met with in the spring and sum-
mer when presenting the ferruginous plumage
peculiar to that season, except during the brief
period that intervenes between their arrival from
the continent and the resumption of their journey
towards the North.

LITTLE STINT, Tringa minuta. Rather a scarce
bird, but specimens have been obtained near
Shoreham, Pagham, and Hastings.

TEMMINCK'S STINT, Tringa Temminckii. A
very rare species. Mr. Yarrell says that he has
seen examples which were procured in the neigh-
bourhood of Chichester. About two years ago

232 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

one was shot at Cuckmere haven, and is now in
the collection of Mr. Baillie, of Mellerston, N.B.

DUNLIN, Tringa variabilis. Abundant on most
parts of the coast.

PURPLE SANDPIPER, Tringa maritima. Has
been frequently shot during the autumn and
winter.

Family

LANDRAIL, Crex pratensis. A few are occa-
sionally met with near the Downs on their arrival
in April, at which time they are lean and in bad
condition. Rarely found here during the breeding-
season. At the period of the autumnal migration
they are of frequent occurrence, more especially
on the arable portion of the Downs. They are
often flushed by sportsmen during September in
clover fields, and are then excessively fat and
highly prized by epicures.

Mr. Yarrell records an instance of two shooters
in the neighbourhood of Battle, in this county,
killing " fifteen couple of landrails in one day, and
seven couple the next day." This of course was
an extraordinary occurrence.

SPOTTED CRAKE, Crex porzana. Arrives from
the continent about the latter end of March or
early in April, and examples have at that period

RALLID.E. 283

been occasionally taken in an exhausted state,
within the precints of the town of Brighton. Af-
ter a dark stormy night, in the spring of 1841,
a spotted crake was found alive in the churchyard
of Trinity Chapel, probably attracted — like many
other migratory birds which have been captured
in the gardens and even in the areas of the houses
— by the long line of gas-lights which extends al-
most without interruption from Brunswick Terrace
to Kemp- Town.

Specimens have been shot near Storrington in
the autumn, and several were killed during the
month of October, 1841, on Henfield Common.

LITTLE CRAKE, Crex pusilla. A little crake
was caught alive a few years ago near Beeding
chalk-pits, (vide Yarrell). I have also seen a spe-
cimen in the possession of the proprietor of the
Dolphin Inn at Shoreham, which was shot by
himself in that neighbourhood. I am not aware
that a third example of this scarce bird has oc-
curred in Sussex.

WATER RAIL, Rallus aquaticus. Has frequently
been captured on the beach, and in different parts
of Brighton, during the period of the vernal migra-
tion, under circumstances to which I have already
alluded, (vide Spotted Crake). About the middle
of April, 1842, a couple were taken in East-street,
and several on the same morning within the areas

234 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

of houses on the KingVroad and on Brunswick-
terrace.

MOORHEN, Gallinula chloropus. Common on
the banks of rivers, brooks and ditches.

COMMON COOT, Fulica atra. Not so generally
distributed as the last species, but numerous on
many large ponds whose banks are furnished with
reeds and sedges.

Family LOBIPEDID^.

GREY PHALAROPE, Phalaropus lobatus. Has
been occasionally obtained in the spring — in the
red plumage peculiar to the breeding-season — but
more frequently during the autumn when return-
ing to the continent from its northern summer
quarters. During September, 1846, after a severe
gale from the south-west which lasted for some
days, great numbers of grey phalaropes suddenly
appeared on various parts of the coast of Sussex :
many were shot, others taken in a dying state, and
some killed with stones as they were swimming
among the breakers near the shore. They ap-
peared almost simultaneously at Pagham, Wor-
thing, Shoreham, Newhaven, and Hastings. By
far the greater number of these phalaropes were
birds of the year.

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, Phalaropus hyperbo-
reus. A very rare straggler from the North. A

ANATID.E. 235

few years ago a bird of this species was taken alive
on the beach near Hastings, and subsequently pre-
served by Mr. Bissenden, a bird-stuffer in that
town. In this species the rufous colour is re-
stricted to the neck and breast, the upper plumage
being generally of a dark lead tint. This, to-
gether with its smaller size, more slender and
pointed bill, and proportionably longer legs, may
at all seasons serve to distinguish it from the grey
phalarope.

Order NATATORES.— Family

GREY-LEGGED GOOSE, Anser ferus. The com-
mon wild goose of some authors. One of our rar-
est Anatida. Has been occasionally shot during
very severe winters. I obtained two at Pagham,
in 1839.

BEAN GOOSE, Anser segetum. Not unusual dur-
ing hard weather.

WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, Anser albifrons. Ex-
amples of this species are met with every winter
on the coast.

BERNICLE GOOSE, Anser leucopsis. I procured
a few specimens of the bernicle during December
1838 and January 1839 at Pagham Harbour,
and it has occurred at Shoreham and Rye, but it
can only be considered as a visitant of rare oc-
currence.

236 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

BRENT GOOSE, Anser torquatus. During the
severe winter to which I have just alluded brent
geese were unusually abundant at Paghara Har-
bour. I shot several myself. This is the best
bird I ever tasted : the flesh is as tender and juicy
as that of a teal, and there is a total absence of
the fishy flavour which renders so many of our
water-fowl unfit for the table.

EGYPTIAN GOOSE, Anser Egyptiacus. Although
unknown in Sussex until within the last few years,
several examples of the Egyptian goose have oc-
curred in different parts of the county. These were
probably the descendants of birds which had been
introduced into England from abroad ; and which
have been known in many instances to have
escaped from ponds and ornamental pieces of
water. One in my own collection was shot at
Shoreham Harbour, in December, 1847. I have
seen a specimen at Hollycombe which was killed
in that neighbourhood. It has also been obtained
at Bexhill, and in various parts of the interior.

HOOPER, Cygnus ferus. Wild Swan or Whist-
ling Swan. An unusually severe winter always
brings this bird to our coast. In January 1839 1
saw several flocks at Pagham, and procured many
specimens.

MUTE SWAN, Cygnus olor. Seen in a half-
domesticated state on ponds and rivers. Some-

ANATID.E. 237

times a male of this species performs a sort of
partial migration, and proves that he can make use
of his wings when occasion requires it. A swan
will then occasionally disappear, and all enquiries
in the neighbourhood proving ineffectual, the loss
is attributed to the poacher or the midnight rob-
ber, until perhaps it is discovered that the bird had
only joined some solitary spinster on a distant
pond, where she had been doomed to float for
many years in " single blessedness."

COMMON SHELLDRAKE, Tadorna vulpanser. Not
uncommon, but generally found in the immature
state.

SHOVELER, Anas clypeata. Has frequently
occurred during winter on different parts of the
coast.

GADWALL, Anas strepera. Rather a scarce
bird. Has been occasionally shot at Pagham and
Shoreham.

PINTAIL DUCK, Anas acuta. An ordinary win-
ter visitor.

WILD DUCK, Anas boschas. Common.

GARGANEY DUCK, Anas querquedula. Imma-
ture examples of the garganey are not unusual in
the winter at Pagham, Shoreham, Rye, and Hast-
ings. Adult specimens — particularly males — are
rare.

TEAL, Anas crecca. Of frequent occurrence.

238 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

WIGEON, Anas Penelope. A regular winter visi-
tant, in considerable numbers.

EIDER DUCK, Somateria mollissima. A very
rare wanderer from the North. An immature spe-
cimen was shot by Serjeant Carter, in November,
1830, at Chichester Harbour, and two were killed
some years ago, associated with a flock of brent
geese on Rye Marsh.

VELVET SCOTER, Oidemia fusca. Rare. Sel-
dom ventures on shore even in hard weather, but
has been observed a few miles at sea, being, how-
ever, very wild and difficult of approach. I have
a specimen which was killed off Selsey Bill.

COMMON SCOTER, Oidemia nigra. Abundant
in the neighbourhood of the coast during severe
winters, and may be observed in mid-channel at
all times of the year. The fishermen call them
" black ducks."

POCHARD or DUN BIRD, Fuligula ferina. Of
frequent occurrence in inclement seasons, and
equally acceptable to the wild-fowl-shooter and
the gourmand.

SCAUP DUCK, Fuligula marila. Perhaps the
most common species, after the wigeon, that is
met with on this coast during the winter months.

TUFTED DUCK, Fuligula cristata. Almost as
abundant as the last.

LONG-TAILED DUCK, Fuligula glacialis. Adult

ANATIDjE. 239

specimens of the long-tailed duck are of rare oc-
currence in Sussex. It is strictly a winter visitor,
and a continuance of severe weather is necessary
to induce it to wander so far from its northern
haunts. In 1839 I shot a young male, at Pagham
Harbour, out of a flock of scaup ducks. Immature
examples 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, during the hard winter of
1844-45.

GOLDEN EYE, Fuligula clangula. Adult males
are unusual, but females and young birds are
killed on the coast every winter, and on rivers and
ponds several miles inland. I have shot it at
Pagham, and have received several specimens
killed at Burton and Pulborough, presenting that
state of the immature plumage in which it has
been called the Morillon.

SMEW, Mergus albellm. Like the golden eye,
the females and young males of this species are
most frequently met with. They have been killed
in various parts of the county. I have, however,
seen many examples of the adult male bird. One
is in my own collection which was shot at Shore-
ham ; there is another at Hollycombe, obtained
in that neighbourhood, and a third at Burton,

240 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

which was killed on the upper pond. It has also
occurred at Amberley, Pagham, and Newhaven.

RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, Mergus serrator.
Males in the perfect plumage are very rare. Fe-
males and immature birds of both sexes have fre-
quently occurred.

GOOSANDER, Mergus merganser. A rare visitor
to Sussex, except during inclement seasons.
Young birds have occasionally been killed at dif-
ferent places on the coast.

Family COLYMBID^E.

GREAT-CRESTED GREBE, Podiceps cristatus.
Not uncommon on large ponds with reedy banks.
Has been observed at Burton at all times of the
year. Adult males have been killed at Chichester
Harbour and Pagham. Generally met with in the
immature state, when it is the Tippet Grebe of
earlier authors.

RED-NECKED GREBE, Podiceps rubricollis. A
few examples of this rare grebe have been obtained
in Sussex, and all of these — I believe — on the
coast, being more marine in its habits than any of
its congeners. During March, 1847, a bird of this
species, having been observed for sometime swim-
ming and diving near the beach opposite Bruns-
wick-terrace, Brighton, was pursued by a party of

COLYMBID^E. 241

active rowers in a galley, and captured after a long
chace. This specimen is now in my collection.
The forepart of the neck exhibits a considerable
portion of the ferruginous plumage peculiar to the
breeding-season.

SCLAVONIAN GREBE, Podiceps cornutus. Sel-
dom found in the adult state ; but the young —
the dusky grebe of Bewick — has been frequently
obtained.

LITTLE GREBE or DABCHICK, Podiceps minor.
Provincial, Mole-diver. Common on ponds and
sluggish streams in the interior of the county.

GREAT NORTHERN DIVER, Colymbus glacialis.
Old birds are scarce, but immature examples are
killed every year on the coast, and occasionally in
the interior.

BLACK- THROATED DIVER, Colymbus arcticus.
Appears to be the most uncommon of the three
divers, particularly in the perfect state of plumage.
I have a remarkably fine adult specimen which
was shot in Chich ester Harbour during the winter
of 1845. I have seen another in the museum
of the Mechanics' Institute at Hastings, which
was killed in that neighbourhood ; and a third in
the Chichester collection which was sent from
Selsey. Immature birds have frequently been
obtained on the coast.

RED-THROATED DIVER, Colymbus septentrio-

M

242 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

nalis. Common along the shores of Sussex during
the latter part of winter and early spring, but very
few of the examples then observed or procured
have the red throat, which is characteristic of the
breeding-season.

Family ALCAD.E.

COMMON GUILLEMOT, Uria troile. Provincial,
Willock or Willy. Breeds at Beachy Head, but
is less abundant there than formerly. Is frequently
met with in the Channel, a few miles from the
shore, during the winter.

LITTLE AUK, Mergulus alle. Occasionally dri-
ven to our coasts by severity of weather. In the
autumn of 1841 several were killed. On the 5th
of November, in the same year, one was caught
in a shrimp-net, near Cuckmere Haven ; and after
a violent storm in December, 1848, a specimen
was captured at Newhaven.

PUFFIN or COULTERNEB, Fratercula arctica.
Provincial, Sea Parrot. These birds have no
breeding- station on the coast of Sussex, but emi-
grants from the Isle of Wight occasionally visit
our shores. These are generally immature birds.

RAZOR-BILL, Alca torda. Provincial, Parrot-
billed Willock or Willy. Breeds at Beachy Head.
During winter great numbers are killed a few
miles at sea, off Hastings.

LARIM. 243

Family PELECANID^E.

COMMON CORMORANT, Phalacrocorax carlo.
Provincial, Seaford Shag. A small colony is es-
tablished at Seaford Cliff during the breeding-sea-
son. Stragglers from the Isle of Wight continually
pass along the coast, and a bird of this species now
and then makes his appearance on large ponds and
flooded tracts of low land in the interior.

GREEN CORMORANT, Phalacrocorax graculus.
Of very unusual occurrence. I have seen one or
two examples — immature — which were killed
at Pagham Harbour during the hard winter of
1838-89.

GANNET, Sula alba. After the severe storms
which attend the autumnal equinox, some of these
birds are almost always captured on the coast of
Sussex in an exhausted state. Individuals have
been thus found near Pagham, Selsey, Shoreham,
Newhaven, and Pevensey. The Brighton fisher-
men find them abundant in mid-channel during
the herring-season. During the night they sleep
on the water, so profoundly as frequently to allow
the boats to pass over them.

Family LARID.E.

SANDWICH TERN, Sterna Boysii. Has been
obtained at Pevensey, Selsey, and Rye in May

M2

244 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

and June, as well as during the autumnal
months. '

COMMON TERN or SEA SWALLOW, Sterna hirun-
do. Provincial, Skiff. The wide-spreading bed
of shingle near Pevensey Bay, between East-
bourne and Bexhill, is still the resort of many
species of terns during the breeding-season ; but
they are not so numerous as they used to be, pro-
bably in consequence of the vast number of their
eggs that have been taken during the summer,
the sale of which amounted a few years ago
almost to a regular traffic. I have heard that a
person, who lived at that time near Bexhill, had
a peculiar breed of dogs — a sort of cross, as I un-
derstand, between a setter and a water-spaniel
— which he trained to hunt for the eggs of terns,
ring-dotterels, and lapwings : and valuable coad-
jutors they proved. Quartering the ground like a
pointer or setter, and taking advantage of the
direction of the wind in the same manner, they
would draw gradually towards the spot where the
eggs of a tern had been deposited — whether the
bird was at home or not — and drop within a yard
of them. Such assistance must have greatly
lessened the labour of egg-hunting on this stony
desert, for it is generally a tedious process — as I
know by experience — requiring much patience and
long practice, so nearly do the eggs, both in colour

LARID^. 245

and form, resemble the surrounding flints and
pebbles.

ARCTIC TERN, Sterna arctica. Is decidedly
more numerous on Pevensey Shingle during May
and June than the last species. In fact, this bird
is here " the common tern," and would appear to
be more generally distributed throughout the
British Islands than any of its congeners. In
May, 1842, large flocks appeared almost simulta-
neously at Devonport, Bristol and Gloucester, and
at various places on the coasts of Hampshire, Sussex
and Kent. This tern may at once be distinguished
from the so-called common tern — with which it
has evidently been frequently confused — by the
prevalent light grey colour of the lower parts?
which in the latter are of a delicately pure white.
The tarsi are also much shorter.

GULL-BILLED TERN, Sterna Anglica. A very
scarce and local visitor. First described by
Colonel Montagu, who obtained examples at Rye.
There is a specimen in my own collection which
was shot in that neighbourhood.

LESSER TERN, Sterna minuta. Provincial,
Little Skiff. Of frequent occurrence at Pevensey
during the breeding- season and autumn.

BLACK TERN, Sterna fissipes. A rare bird in
Sussex. Has occasionally been killed at the
period of the spring and autumnal migrations,

246 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

when passing to or returning from its summer
quarters in more inland counties.

LITTLE GULL, Larus minutus. A specimen of
this scarce gull is in the possession of the Rev.
Mr. Dennis, of Seaford, which was killed in that
neighbourhood.

BLACK-HEADED GULL, Larus ridibundus. Abun-
dant.

LAUGHING GULL, Larus atricilla. A rare spe-
cies. Inserted here on the authority of Montagu.
Vide Yarrell.

KITTIWAKE GULL, Larus tridactylus. Common.

IVORY GULL, Larus eburneus. Has been occa-
sionally obtained in Sussex. Twice near Brigh-
ton. There is a specimen, which I have seen,
in the possession of Mr. Johnson, a chemist at St.
Leonard's, which was found on the beach in a
dying state; and during the winter of 1848 an
example occurred near Rye.

COMMON GULL, Larus canus. Less generally
distributed in Sussex than in most maritime coun-
ties. Is occasionally met with in the interior.

LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, Larus fuscus.
Far from common, although occasionally seen on
different parts of the coast. A few breed at New-
haven, on the same cliff as the herring gulls.

HERRING GULL, Larus argentatus. Abundant
at Newhaven during the summer.

LARID^E. 247

GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL, Larus marinus.
Provincial, Parson Gull. So called from a sup-
posed resemblance in the arrangement of its black
and white plumage to the hood and surplice of a
clergyman. Adult birds are not numerous, and
are generally observed alone.

GLAUCOUS GULL, Larus glaucus. An immature
example of this scarce gull was captured by a boy,
from off the chain-pier at Brighton, with an in-
strument called a " click," to the use of which a
certain portion of the juvenile population of that
town are much addicted. It consists of a cork
rudely fashioned after the likeness of a fish, over
which is stretched the skin of a mackerel. From
this two hooks project, which, however, are ren-
dered the most attractive portion of the bait by
being covered with tempting morsels of liver. A
long line is then attached to it, when it is thrown
into the sea and suffered to float away with the
tide to a considerable distance. Many gulls of
different species are thus taken every year.

The glaucous gull is as large as the great black-
backed gull. When adult it is nearly white, but
young birds may be distinguished from those
of the latter species by the shafts of the wing-
feathers being always of a light colour.

COMMON SKUA, Lestris catarractes. A rare
wanderer from the North. Has occurred on dif-

248 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

ferent parts of the coast, generally reduced to
a state of starvation. A few years since, in the
month of November, a baker's boy captured a
great skua on the beach at Kemp Town, which
was in the act of devouring a dead cat, and was
with difficulty separated from its savoury meal.
This specimen was preserved by Mr. Swaysland.
About the same time another was killed at Wor-
thing. A severe storm had prevailed for some
days previously. An individual of this species has
also been shot at Hove, while feeding on carrion ;
and another was picked up dead off the chain -pier
at Brighton. All these examples were in imper-
fect plumage and much emaciated.

POMERINE SKUA, Lestris pomarinus. Of more
usual occurrence than the last. Immature speci-
mens have been killed near Bognor, Shoreham,
Brighton, Newhaven, and Hastings.

RICHARDSON'S SKUA, Lestris Richardsonii. This
species of skua occurs more frequently in Sussex
than either of the preceding. Immature examples
have been killed on different parts of the coast,
and at Dell Quay, near Chichester. In Septem-
ber, 1840, one was killed at Brighton, which had
partially assumed the long tail-feathers; and on
the 3rd of October, 1843, an adult specimen was
taken with a " click" (vide Glaucous Gull) off the
chain-pier at Brighton.

LARIM. 249

MANX SHEARWATER, Puffinus Anglorum. An
unusual and accidental visitor to this part of the
British Channel. Has been met with occasionally
at some distance from the shore.

FORK-TAILED PETREL, Thalassidroma Leachii.
Several examples of the fork-tailed petrel have
been taken on the coasts of Sussex : almost inva-
riably after south-westerly storms. It has oc-
curred at Pagham, Lancing, Shoreham, Brighton,
Newhaven, Pevensey, and Hastings. On the 23rd
of November, 1848, a specimen was shot at Little-
hampton; and on the 14th of December, in the
same year, an example was taken on the beach
near Rottingdean, and brought alive to Mr. Sways-
land. The tips of the wings were worn off, pro-
bably in its vain efforts to scramble up the per-
pendicular chalk cliff after it had alighted on the
shore. Although in a dying state, it evinced a
considerable degree of coolness and self-posses-
sion after its capture, disregarding the presence of
the spectators who surrounded it, and occasionally
pluming its wings with much care and attention.
In performing this operation it opened its beak
very wide, and causing the root of the quill to fall
into the angles of the mouth, it drew every por-
tion of the feather slowly through the closed man-
dibles.

250 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.

STORM PETREL or MOTHER CAREY'S CHICKEN,
Thalassidroma pelagica. This bird has — more
frequently than the last — been picked up dead or
nearly so on the coast, and even many miles in the
interior. However much it may appear to be " at
home " during a storm when far from the land,
and with plenty of sea-room — and I have myself
seen it under such circumstances in the Bay of
Biscay, as well as off the western coast of Ireland
— it would certainly seem to be " all abroad "
when driven from its favourite element by a sud-
den tempest, or by those severe and protracted
gales which occur at the period of the autumnal
equinox.

FINIS.

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trations, 8s. 6d.

THE ELEMENTS OF BOTANY. By M. ADRIEN DE
JUSSIEU, translated by JAMES HEWETSON WILSON, F.L.S.,
F.R.B.S., &c. Post 8vo. with 753 Woodcuts, 12s. 6d.

THE PHYTOLOGIST. A Monthly Journal of Botany, 1*.
THE ZOOLOGIST. A Monthly Journal, Is.

THE BIRDS OF JAMAICA. By P. H. GOSSE, Author
of 'The Canadian Naturalist,' &c., assisted by RICHARD
HILL, Esq. of Spanish Town, and other Residents. Post
8vo. 10*.

." The result is a very attractive and original volume, valuable to the Natu-
ralist for its information, and acceptable to the general reader for its lifelike de-
scriptions of the habits of the birds and the landscapes in which they are found,
as well as for incidental glimpses of colonial manners and character."

Spectator, May 15, 1847.

" With this extract we must close our notice of Mr. Gosse's exceedingly inte-
resting volume ; feeling assured that its own intrinsic merits will warmly re-
commend it to the favour of readers of every class."

Westminster Review, No. 93.

" A man must have a healthy mind who can write in this enjoying and en-
joyable way: a more delightful book than Mr. Gosse's we have seldom met
with ; it quite glows with tropical beauty and life."

Christian Remembrancer, July, 1847.

" A more pleasing, a more useful, a more valuable addition to the science of
Ornithology than this work we have not seen for many years."

Gentleman's Magazine, August, 1847.

"It is full of interest to the ornithologist, and we are glad that the biography
of some of its feathered tribes has fallen into the hands of so able an observer
as the author of the volume before us." — Eclectic Review, October, 1847.

Since published, in large 8vo., price ll. 16s., a series of
Illustrations of such of the species described as have not
been figured in any ornithological work hitherto published.

The number of species illustrated amounts to sixty-four, a
considerable number of which are new to science. The Plates
are carefully coloured.

JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF INSTINCT; deduced from the
Habits of British Animals. By JONATHAN COUCH, F.L.S.
Member of the Royal Geological Society, and of the Royal
Institution of Cornwall, &c. Post 8vo., 8*. 6d.

CONTENTS.

Chapter I. Instinct, and mode of studying it. — Creatures
of lowest organization. — Tissues. — Beginning, Division, and
Offices of the Nervous System. — Irritability. Chap. II. Ad-
dition of Tissues. — Groupings of Animals. — Life. — Differ-
ences in Nerves. — Balance of Tissues, forming the specific
identity of Animals. Chap. III. Variation of Habits with
Age, and according to Periods. — In Building, Migration, Si-
tuation, Appetite. — Attack and Escape. — Methods to be
adopted in Human Defence. — Consciousness of peculiar
Powers. Chap. IV. Disposition to become Tamed. — Hin-
drances to Taming. — Timidity. — The most useful Properties
of Animals neglected. Chap. V. Escape from Danger by
Flight and Concealment. — Immersion in Water. — Use of pe-
culiar Powers. — Forms and Colours. — Electricity. Chap. VI.
Errors of Poets and Divines regarding Instinct. — This pro-
perty in Infancy. — The Soul. Chap. VII. Idea of God.—
Man as originally created. — Human Speech. — Language of
Animals. — Song of Birds. — Influence of Sounds. — Musical
Instruments. — Association of Sounds with Actions. Chap.
VIII. Migrations of Birds and Insects. Chap. IX. The Hu-
man Soul Immaterial. — Aspiration after Immortality an In-
stinct.— Difference between Human and Brute Souls. — Occult
Instincts. — Reason united with Instinct. Chap. X. The
lower Instincts united with Reason. — Hunger and Provision.
— Contrivances. — Escape from Danger. Chap. XI. Mistakes
in the Interpretation of the Actions of Animals. — Feigning
Death.— Effects of Terror. Chap. XII. Circle of Animal Ac-
tions.— Nests of Birds. — Their unusual Situations, with pecu-
liar Contrivances. — Conveyance of young ones. — Desire of
Progeny. — Duplication of Broods. Chap. XIII. Compassion
to young Birds by those of a different Race. Chaps, XIV.
to Chap. XXIL

" His facts are of very great importance, and in his treatment and arrange-
ment of them he has advanced very considerably the discussion of a highly
important question. His anecdotes are as amusing, and sometimes as asto-
nishing, as a fairy tale ; and he makes them subserve his reasonings with great
acuteness and skill. On the whole, ' Illustrations of Instinct ' is a very fasci-
natngbook." — Examiner, October 16, 1847.

JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW.

Architecture.

ARCHITECTURAL PARALLELS ; or, The Progress of Ecclesiastical Archi-
tecture in England, through the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, exhibited
in a Series of Parallel Examples selected from Abbey Churches. By EDMUND
SHARPE, M.A. 121 Plates in tinted outline, each 18 in. by 12 in., half mor.
131. 13s., or large paper, 161. 10s.

INSTRUMENTA ECCLESIASTICA : a Series of Seventy-two designs for
the Furniture, Fittings, and Decorations of Churches and their Precipcts.
Edited by the Ecclesiological, late Cambridge Camden Society. 4to. 11. 11s. 6d.

A MANUAL OF GOTHIC MOLDINGS. A Practical Treatise on their
Formation, Gradual Development, Combinations, and Varieties ; with full
Directions for copying them, and for determining their Dates. By F. A.
PALEY, M.A. Second Edition, Illustrated by nearly 600 Examples. 8vo. 7s. 6d.

Other Works by MR. PALEY.

THE CHURCH RESTORERS ; A Tale, Treating of Ancient and
Modern Architecture and Church Decorations. With a Frontispiece.
Foolscap 8vo. 4s. 6d.

A MANUAL OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE. With a full Account
of Monumental Brasses and Ecclesiastical Costume. Foolscap 8vo., with
70 Illustrations, 6s. 6d.

BAPTISMAL FONTS. A Series of 125 Engravings, Examples of the
different Periods, accompanied with Descriptions ; and with an Introduc-
tory Essay. In 8vo. 11. Is.

DECORATED WINDOWS. By EDMUND SHARPE, M.A., Architect. Each
Part, price 2s. 6d., will contain Eight Examples selected from the Parish
Churches of England, engraved on Steel, with accompanying Descriptions ;
the concluding part will be Introductory, and Illustrated by Woodcuts, &c.

PERRAN-ZABULOE ; with an Account of the Past and Present State of
the Oratory of St. Piran-in-the-Sands, and Remarks on its Antiquity. By
the REV. WM. HASLAM, B.A., Resident Curate. Foolscap 8vo., with se-
veral Illustrations, 4s. 6d.

HERALDRY OF FISH. By THOMAS MOULE. The Engravings, 205 in
number, are from Stained Glass, Tombs, Sculpture, and Carving, Medals and
Coins, Rolls of Arms, and Pedigrees. 8vo., price 21s. A few on large paper
(royal 8vo.) for colouring, price 21. 2s.

Natural History.

THE ISLE OF MAN ; its History, Physical, Ecclesiastical, Civil, and
Legendary. By the REV. J. G. CUMMING, M.A., F.G.S., Vice-Principal of
King William's College, Castletown. Post 8vo., with Illustrations, 12s. 6d.

PROFESSOR OWEN ON THE ARCHETYPE AND HOMOLOGIES
OF THE VERTEBRATE SKELETON. 8vo. 10s.

A SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE OF THE EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS,
arranged with a View to supersede the use of Labels for Eggs. By the Rev.
S. C. MALAN, M.A., M.A.S. On writing-paper. 8vo. 8s. 6d.

RARE AND REMARKABLE ANIMALS OF SCOTLAND, Represented
from Living Subjects : with Practical Observations on their Nature. By SIR
JOHN GRAHAM DALYELL, BART. Vol. First, 53 Coloured Plates, 4to., h. 3s.

JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW.

Natural History continued.

GEOLOGY: Introductory, Descriptive, and Practical. By DAVID THOMAS
ANSTED, M.A., F.R.S. ; Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge ; Professor of
Geology in King's College, London. 2 Vols. 8vo., with numerous Illustrative
Engravings, price 21. 2s.

THE BIRDS OF JAMAICA. By P. H. GOSSE, Author of the "Canadian
Naturalist," &c. Post 8vo., price 10s.

ILLUSTRATIONS to this Work of the Species not heretofore figured,
Imperial 8vo., to be completed in about 15 Parts, at 2s. 6d. Each Part
will contain Four Birds Coloured.

OBSERVATIONS IN NATURAL HISTORY ; with a Calendar of Pe-
riodic Phenomena. By the REV. LEONARD JENYNS, M.A., F.L.S. Post
8vo, 10s. Gd.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF INSTINCT, deduced from the Habits of British
Animals. By JONATHAN COUCH, F.L.S., Member of the Royal Geological
Society and of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, &c. Post 8vo. 8s. 6d.

THE ANCIENT WORLD ; or, Picturesque Sketches of Creation. By D. T.
ANSTED, M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S., Professor of Geology in King's College, Lon-
don, &c. &c. A New Edition, Post 8vo., with 149 Illustrations, 10s. 6d.

OUTLINES OF STRUCTURAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL BOTANY.
By ARTHUR HENFREY, F.L.S., Lecturer on Botany at the Middlesex Hospi-
tal ; late Botanist to the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom. With
18 Plates, Foolscap 8vo. 10s. 6d.

A MANUAL OF BRITISH BOTANY ; containing the Flowering Plants
and Ferns, arranged according to the Natural Orders. By CHARLES C.
BABINGTON, M.A., F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. Second Edition, 12mo. 10s.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF ANIMALS ; By T. RYMER JONES, F.R.S.,
F.Z.S. Professor of Comparative Anatomy in King's College, London.
Post 8vo., Vol. L, with 105 Illustrations, price 12s.

FIRST STEPS TO ANATOMY. By JAMES L. DRUMMOND, M.D., Professor
of Anatomy and Physiology in the Belfast Royal Institution. With 12 Illus-
trative Plates. 12mo. 5s.

TRAVELS IN LYCIA, MIL Y AS, AND THE CIBYRATIS, in company
with the late REV. E. T. DANIELL. By LIEUT. SPRATT, R.N. and PRO-
FESSOR EDWARD FORBES. With numerous Illustrations, including Views of
the Scenery ; Plans of Ancient Cities and Buildings ; Plates of Coins and
Inscriptions ; Cuts of Rock Tombs, Fossils, and Geological Sections, and an
original Map of Lycia. 2 Vols. 8vo., 36s.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF STAFFORDSHIRE, comprising its Geo-
logy, Zoology, Botany, and Meteorology; also its Antiquities, Topography,
Manufactures, &c. By ROBERT GARNER, F.L.S. Illustrated, 8vo. II. Is.

THE HONEY BEE ; its Natural History, Physiology, and Management. By
EDWARD BE VAN, M.D. A new Edition, 12mo., with Illustrations, 10s. 6d.

ON THE GROWTH OF PLANTS IN CLOSELY-GLAZED CASES. By
N. B. WARD, F.L.S. 8vo., 5s.

A FAMILIAR INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF INSECTS.
By EDWARD NEWMAN, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. 8vo. with nearly 100 Illustra-
tions, price 12s.

WHITE'S NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. A new edition, with
Notes, by the Rev. L. JENYNS, M.A., F.L.S. Fcp. 8vo., illustrated, 7s. 6d.

JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW.

A FAMILIAR INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF POLARIZED
LIGHT ; with a Description of, and Instructions for Using, the Table and
Hydro-Oxygen Polariscope and Microscope. By CHARLES WOODWARD,
F.R.S. 8vo., Illustrated, 3s.

ANATOMICAL MANIPULATION ; or, The Methods of pursuing Practical
Investigations in Comparative Anatomy and Physiology. Also an Introduc-
tion to the Use of the Microscope, &c. By ALFRED TULK, M.R.C.S., M.E.S.;
and ARTHUR HENFREY, F.L.S., M.Mic.S. With Illustrated Diagrams,
Foolscap 8vo., 9s.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. This Series oj
Works is Illustrated by many Hundred Engravings; every Species lias been
Drawn and Engraved under the immediate inspection of the Authors ; the be^
Artists have been employed, and no care or expense has been spared. A few copies
on larger paper, royal 8vo.

THE QUADRUPEDS, by PROFESSOR BELL. II. 8s.

THE BIRDS, By MR. YARRELL. Second Ed., 3 vols. 41. Us. 6d.

COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE EGGS OF BIRDS,
By MR. HEWITSON. 2 vols. 4£. 10s.

THE REPTILES, By PROFESSOR BELL. Second Edition, shortly.
THE FISHES, BY MR. YARRELL. Second Edition, 2 vols. 3£*

THE CRUSTACEA, By PROFESSOR BELL. Now in Course of
Publication, in Parts at 2s. 6d.

THE STARFISHES, By PROFESSOR EDWARD FORBES. 15s.
THE ZOOPHYTES, By DR. JOHNSTON. Second Ed., 2 vols., 21. 2s.

THE MOLLUSCOUS ANIMALS AND THEIR SHELLS, By
PROFESSOR ED. FORBES, and MR. HANLEY. Now in Course of
Publication, in Parts at 2s. 6d. ; or Large Paper, with the Plates
Coloured, 5s.

THE FOREST-TREES, By MR. SELBY. 28s.

THE FERNS AND ALLIED PLANTS, By MR. NEWMAN. 25s.

THE FOSSIL MAMMALS AND BIRDS, By PROFESSOR OWEN.

A GENERAL OUTLINE OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, By
PROFESSOR T. RYMER JONES. 8vo. II. 18s.

* " This book ought to be largely circulated, not only on account of its scientific merits, bul
because it is popularly written throughout, and therefore likely to excite general attention
to a subject which ought to be held as one of primary importance. Everyone is interested
about fishes — the political economist, the epicure, the merchant, the man of science, the
angler, the poor, the rich. We hail the appearance of this book as the dawn of a new era in
the Natural History of England."— Quarterly Review, No. 116.

JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW.

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