"Goeland à pieds jaunes."--The Lesser Black-backed Gull is common in the
Islands, remaining throughout the year and breeding in certain places.
None of these birds breed in Guernsey itself, or on the mainland of
Sark, and very few, if any, on Alderney. A few may be seen, from time to
time, wandering about all the Islands during the breeding-season; but
these are either immature birds or wanderers from their own
breeding-stations. About Sark a few pairs breed on Le Tas[33] and one or
two other outlying islets; their principal breeding-stations, however,
appear to be on the small rocky islands to the north of Herm, on all of
which, as far out as the Amfrocques, we found considerable numbers
breeding, or rather attempting to do so; for this summer, 1878, having
been generally fine, all these rocks were tolerably easily landed on,
and the fishermen had robbed the Lesser Black-backs to an extent which
threatens some day to exterminate them, in spite of the Guernsey Bird
Act, which professes to protect the eggs as well as the birds; but a far
better protection for these poor Black-backs is a roughish summer, when
landing on these islands is by no means safe or pleasant, and frequently
impossible. On Burhou, near Alderney, there are also a considerable
number of Lesser Black-backs breeding, though they fare quite as badly
from the Alderney and French fishermen as those on the Amfrocques and
other islands north of them do from the Guernsey fishermen. On all these
islands the nests of the Lesser Black-backs were placed amongst the
bracken, sea stock, thrift, &c, which grew amongst the rocks, and on the
shallow soil which had collected in places. When I was at Burhou in 1876
I found Lesser Black-backs breeding all over the Island, some of the
nests being placed on the low rocks, some amongst the bracken and
thrift; so thickly scattered amongst the bracken were the nests, that
one had to be very careful in walking for fear of treading on the nests
and breaking the eggs. On this Island there is an old deserted cottage,
sometimes used as a shelter by the lessees of the Island, who go over
there to shoot a few wretched rabbits which pick up a precarious
subsistence by feeding on the scanty herbage; on the roof of this
cottage several of the Lesser Black-backs perched themselves in a row
whilst I was looking about at the eggs, and kept up a most dismal
screaming at the top of their voices. The eggs, as is generally the case
with gulls, varied considerably both in ground colour and marking; some
were freckled all over with small spots--dark brown, purple, or black;
others had larger markings, principally collected at the larger end; the
ground colour was generally blue, green, or dull olive-green. None of
the Gulls had hatched when I was there on the 14th of June, though some
of the eggs were very hard set; and on the 29th of July I received two
young birds which had been taken on Burhou; these still had down on them
when I got them, and were then difficult to tell from young Herring
Gulls. The distinctions I have mentioned in my note of that bird were,
however, apparent, and the slight difference in the colour of the legs
is perhaps more easily seen in the live birds than in skins which have
been kept and faded into "Museum colour." It is some time, however,
before either bird assumes the proper colour, either of the legs or
bill, the change being very gradual. After the autumnal moult of 1878,
however, the dark feathers of the mantle almost entirely took the place
of the brownish feathers of the young birds; the quills, however, have
still (February, 1879) no white tips, and the tail-feathers are still
much mottled with brown. One Lesser Black-back, which I shot near the
Vale Church on the 17th of July, 1866, is perhaps worthy of note as
being in transition, and perhaps a rather abnormal state of change
considering the time of year at which it was shot; it was in a full
state of moult; the new feathers on the head, neck, tail-coverts, and
under parts are white; the tail also is white, except four old feathers,
two on each side not yet moulted, which are much mottled with brown. The
primary quills had not been moulted, and are quite those of the immature
bird, with no white tip whatever. All the new feathers of the back and
wing-coverts are the dark slate-grey of the adult, but the old worn
feathers are the brownish feathers of the young bird; these feathers are
much worn and faded, being a paler brown than is usual in young birds.
The legs and bill are also quite as much in a state of change as the
rest of the bird. Before finishing this notice of the Lesser Black-back
I think it is worth while to notice that it selects quite a different
sort of breeding-place to the Herring Gull; the nests are never placed
on ledges on the steep precipitous face of the cliffs, but amongst the
bracken and the flat rocks, as at Burhou, the only rather steep rock I
have seen any nests on was at the Amfrocques, but there they were on the
flattish top of the rock, and not on ledges on the side.
Professor Ansted includes the Lesser Black-backed Gull in his list, but
only marks it as occurring in Guernsey. There is one specimen in the
Museum.
169. COMMON GULL. _Larus canus_, Linnaeus. French, "Goeland cendré,"
"Mouette a pieds bleus,"[34] "La Mouette d'Hiver".[35]--The Common Gull,
though by no means uncommon in the Channel Islands during the winter,
never remains to breed there, nor does it do so, I believe, any where in
the West of England, certainly not in Somerset or Devon, as stated by
Mr. Dresser in the 'Birds of Europe,' _fide_ the Rev. M.A. Mathew and
Mr. W.D. Crotch, who must have made some mistake as to its breeding in
those two counties; in Cornwall it is said to breed, by Mr. Dresser, on
the authority of Mr. Rodd. Mr. Dresser, however, does not seem to have
had his authority direct from either of these gentlemen, and only quotes
it from Mr. A.G. More. Mr. Rodd, however, in his 'Notes on the Birds of
Cornwall,' published in the 'Zoologist' for 1870, only says, "Generally
distributed in larger or smaller numbers along or near our coasts,"
which would be equally true of the Channel Islands, although it does not
breed there; however, as Mr. Rodd is going to publish his interesting
notes on the Birds of Cornwall in a separate form, it is much to be
hoped that he will clear that matter up as far as regards that county
and the Scilly Islands. Like the Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gull,
the Common Gull goes through several changes of plumage before it
arrives at maturity; like them it begins with the mottled brownish
stage, and gradually assumes the blue-grey mantle of maturity; in the
earlier stages the primaries have no white spots at the tips. The legs
and bill, which appear to go through more changes than in other Gulls,
are in an intermediate state bluish grey (which accounts for Temminck's
name mentioned above) before they assume the pale yellow of maturity:
although at this time they have the mantle quite as in the adult, there
is a material difference in the pattern of the primary quills, and they
do not appear to breed till their bills have become quite yellow and
their legs a pale greenish yellow. I cannot quite tell at what age the
Common Gull begins to breed, for, although I have a pair which have laid
regularly for the last two years (they have not, however, hatched any
young, which perhaps is the fault of the Herring Gulls, whom I have
several times caught sucking their eggs), I do not know what their age
was when I first had them as I did the Herring Gulls from Sark and the
Lesser Black-backs from Burhou; I can only say when I first had them
they had the bills and legs blue; in fact they were in the state in
which they are the "Mouette à pieds bleus" of Temminck.
Professor Ansted includes the Common Gull in his list, and marks it as
occurring in Guernsey and Sark. There is no specimen in the Museum.
170. GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. _Larus marinus_, Linnaeus. French,
"Goeland à manteau noir."--The Great Black-backed Gull is by no means so
numerous in the Channel Islands as the Herring Gull and the Lesser
Black-back, and is here as elsewhere a rather solitary and roaming bird.
A few, however, remain about the Channel Islands, and breed in places
which suit them, such as Ortack, which I have before mentioned, as the
breeding-place of the Razorbill and Guillemot; and we found one nest on
one of the rocks to the north of Herm, but it had been robbed, as had
all the other Gulls' nests about there; we saw, however, the old birds
about, and Mr. Howard Saunders found one nest on the little Island of Le
Tas, close to Sark; it was quite on the top of the Island, and there
were young in it. I have one splendid adult bird, shot near the harbour
in Guernsey, in March: I should think this is rather an old bird, as,
although there are slight indications of winter plumage on the head, the
white tips of the primaries are very large, that of the first extending
fully two inches and a half, which is considerably more than that of a
fully adult bird I have from Lundy Island. The Great Black-backed Gull
is sufficiently common and well known to have a local name in
Guernsey-French (Hublot or Ublat), for which see 'Métivier's
Dictionary.'
Professor Ansted includes the Great Black-backed Gull in his list, and
marks it as only occurring in Guernsey and Sark. There are three
specimens in the Museum--an adult bird, a young one, and a young one in
down, with the feathers just beginning to show. In the young bird the
head and neck were mottled and much like those of a young Herring Gull
in the same state; the back, thighs, and under parts do not appear so
much spotted as in the young Herring Gull; the feathers on the scapulars
and wing-coverts were just beginning to show two shades of brown, as in
the more mature state; the same may be said of the primary quills, which
were also just beginning to make their appearance; the tail, which was
only just beginning to show, was nearly black, margined with white.
171. BROWN-HEADED GULL. _Larus ridibundus_, Linnaeus. French, "Mouette
rieuse."[36] This pretty little Gull is a common autumn and winter
visitant to all the Islands, remaining on to the spring, but never
breeding in any of them, though a few young and non-breeding birds may
be seen about at all times of the summer, especially about the harbour.
Being a marsh-breeding Gull, and selecting low marshy islands situated
for the most part in inland fresh-water lakes and large pieces of water,
it is not to be wondered at that it does not breed in the Channel
Islands, where there are no places either suited to its requirements or
where it could find a sufficient supply of its customary food during the
breeding-season. Very soon after they have left their breeding-stations,
however, both old and young birds may be seen about the harbours and
bays of Guernsey and the other islands seeking for food, in which matter
they are not very particular, picking up any floating rubbish or
nastiness they may find in the harbour. The generality of specimens
occurring in the Channel Islands are in either winter or immature
plumage, very few having assumed the dark-coloured head which marks the
breeding plumage. This dark colour of the head, which is sometimes
assumed as early as the end of February, comes on very rapidly, not
being the effect of moult, but of a change of colour in the feathers
themselves, the dark colouring-matter gradually spreading over each
feather and supplanting the white of the winter plumage; a few new
feathers are also grown at this time to replace any that have been
accidentally shed--these come in the dark colour. The young birds in
their first feathers are nearly brown, but the grey feathers make their
appearance amongst the brown ones at an earlier stage than in most other
gulls. The primary quills, which are white in the centre with a margin
of black, vary also a good deal with age, the black margins growing
narrower and the white in places extending through the black margin to
the edge, so that in adult birds the black margins are not so complete
as in younger examples.
Professor Ansted mentions the Laughing Gull in his list, by which I
presume he means the present species, and marks it as only occurring in
Guernsey. There is no specimen in the Museum. As it is just possible
that the Mediterranean Black-headed Gull, _Larus melanocephalus_, may
occur in the Islands,--as it does so in France as far as Bordeaux, and
has once certainly extended its wanderings as far as the British
Islands,--it may be worth while to point out the principal distinctions.
In the adult bird the head of _L. melanocephalus_ in the breeding-season
is black, not brown as in _L. ridibundus_, and the first three primaries
are white with the exception of a narrow streak of black on the outer
web of the first, and not white with a black margin as in _L.
ridibundus_. In younger birds, however, the primaries are a little more
alike, but the first primary of _L. melanocephalus_ is black or nearly
so; in this state Mr. Howard Saunders has given plates of the first
three primaries of _L. melanocephalus_ and _L. ridibundus_, both being
from birds of the year shot about March, in his paper on the _Larinae_,
published in the 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society' for the year
1878.
172. LITTLE GULL. _Larus minutus_, Pallas. French, "Mouette pygmée."--I
have never met with this bird myself in the Channel Islands, nor have I
seen a Channel Island specimen, but Mr. Harvie Brown, writing to the
'Zoologist' from St. Peter's Port, Guernsey, under date January 25th,
says, "In the bird-stuffer's shop here I saw a Little Gull in the flesh,
which had been shot a few days ago."[37] Mr. Harvie Brown does not give
us any more information on the subject, and does not even say whether
the bird was a young bird or an adult in winter plumage; but probably it
was a young bird of the year in that sort of young Kittiwake or Tarrock
plumage in which it occasionally occurs on the south coast of Devon.
Professor Ansted does not include the Little Gull in his list, and there
is no specimen in the Museum.
173. GREAT SHEARWATER. _Puffinus major_, Faber. French, "Puffin
majeur."[38]--I think I may fairly include the Great Shearwater in my
list as an occasional wanderer to the Islands, as, although I have not a
Channel Island specimen, nor have I seen it near the shore or in any of
the bays, I did see a small flock of four or five of these birds in
July, 1866, when crossing from Guernsey to Torquay. We were certainly
more than the Admiralty three miles from the land; but had scarcely lost
sight of Guernsey, and were well within sight of the Caskets, when we
fell in with the Shearwaters. They accompanied the steamer for some
little way, at times flying close up, and I had an excellent opportunity
of watching them both with and without my glass, and have therefore no
doubt of the species. There was a heavyish sea at the time, and the
Shearwaters were generally flying under the lee of the waves, just
rising sufficiently to avoid the crest of the wave when it broke. They
flew with the greatest possible ease, and seemed as if no sea or gale of
wind would hurt them; they never got touched by the breaking sea, but
just as it appeared curling over them they rose out of danger and
skimmed over the crest; they never whilst I was watching them actually
settled on the water, though now and then they dropped their legs just
touching the water with their feet.
The Great Shearwater is not mentioned in Professor Ansted's list, and
there is no specimen in the Museum.
174. MANX SHEARWATER. _Puffinus anglorum_, Temminck. French, "Petrel
Manks."--The Manx Shearwater can only be considered as an occasional
wanderer to the Channel Islands, and never by any means so common as it
is sometimes on the opposite side of the Channel about Torbay,
especially in the early autumn. I have one Guernsey specimen, however,
killed near St. Samson's on the 28th September, 1876.[39] As far as I
can make out the Manx Shearwater does not breed in any part of the
Channel Islands, but being rather of nocturnal habits at its
breeding-stations, and remaining in the holes and under the rocks where
its eggs are during the day, it may not have been seen during the
breeding-season; but did it breed anywhere in the Islands more birds,
both old and young, would be seen about in the early autumn when the
young first begin to leave their nests; and the Barbelotters would
occasionally come across eggs and young birds when digging for Puffins'
eggs.
The Manx Shearwater is not included in Professor Ansted's list, and
there is no specimen in the Museum.
175. FULMAR PETREL. _Fulmarus glacialis_, Linnaeus. French, "Petrel
fulmar."--The Fulmar Petrel, wandering bird as it is, especially during
the autumn, at which time of year it has occurred in all the western
counties of England, very seldom finds its way to the Channel Islands,
as the only occurrence of which I am aware is one which I picked up dead
on the shore in Cobo Bay on the 14th of November, 1875, after a very
heavy gale. In very bad weather, and after long-continued gales, this
bird seems to be occasionally driven ashore, either owing to starvation
or from getting caught in the crest of a wave when trying to hover close
over it, after the manner of a Shearwater, as this is the second I have
picked up under nearly the same circumstances, the first being in
November, 1866, when I found one not quite dead on the shore near
Dawlish, in South Devon. It must be very seldom, however, that the
Fulmar visits the Channel Islands, as neither Mr. Couch nor Mrs. Jago
had ever had one through their hands, and Mr. MacCulloch has never heard
of a Channel Island specimen occurring.
It is not included in Professor Ansted's list, and there is no specimen
in the Museum.
176. STORM PETREL. _Thalassidroma pelagica_ Linnaeus. French,
"Thalassidrome tempête."--Mr. Gallienne, in his remarks published with
Professor Ansted's list, says, "The Storm Petrel breeds in large
numbers in Burhou, a few on the other rocks near Alderney, and
occasionally on the rocks near Herm; these are the only places where
they breed, although seen and occasionally killed in all the Islands." I
can add to these places mentioned by Mr. Gallienne the little island,
frequently mentioned before, near Sark, Le Tas, where Mr. Howard
Saunders found several breeding on the 24th June, 1878. I could not
accompany him on this expedition, so he alone has the honour of adding
Le Tas to the breeding-places of the Storm Petrel in the Channel
Islands, and he very kindly gave me the two eggs which he took on that
occasion. When I visited Burhou in June, 1876, I was unsuccessful in
finding more than part of a broken egg and a wing of a dead bird. But
Colonel L'Estrange, who had been there about a fortnight before, found
two addled eggs, but saw no birds. I thought at the time that I had been
too late and the birds had departed, but this does not seem to have been
the case, as Captain Hubback wrote to me in July of this year (1878),
and said, "Do you not think that perhaps you were early on the 14th of
June? Of the six eggs I took on the 2nd of July this year, two were
quite fresh, three hard-sat, and one deserted." I have no doubt he was
right, as the wing of the dead bird I found was, no doubt, that of one
that had come to grief the year before, and the egg was one which had
been sat on and hatched, and might therefore have been one of the
previous year; and the same, possibly, might have been the case with
Col. L'Estrange's two addled eggs. It appears, however, to be rather
irregular in its breeding habits, nesting from the end of May to July or
August. In Burhou the Storm Petrel bred mostly in holes in the soft
black mould, which was also partly occupied by Puffins and Babbits, but
occasionally under large stones and rocks. We did not find any breeding
on the islands to the north of Herm, but they may do so occasionally, in
which case their eggs would probably be mostly placed under large rocks
and stones, where the Puffins find safety from the attacks of the
various egg-stealers. At other times of year than the breeding-season,
the Storm Petrel can only be considered an occasional storm-driven
visitant to the Islands.
It is included in Professor Ansted's list, and marked as occurring in
Alderney, Sark, Jethou, and Herm.
With this bird ends my list of the Birds of Guernsey and the
neighbouring Islands. It contains notices of only 176 birds, 21 less
than Professor Ansted's list, which contains 197; but it seems to me
very doubtful whether many of these 21 species have occurred in the
Islands. I can find no other evidence of their having done so than the
mere mention of the names in that list, as, except the few mentioned in
Mr. Gallienne's notes, no evidence whatever is given of the when and
where of their occurrence; and we are not even told who was responsible
for the identification of any of the birds mentioned. I have no doubt,
however, that any one resident in the Islands for some years, and taking
an interest in the ornithology of the district, would be able to add
considerably to my list, as Miss C.B. Carey, had she lived, would no
doubt have enabled me to do. I think it very probable, mine having been
only flying visits, though extending over several years and at various
times of year, I may have omitted some birds, especially amongst the
smaller Warblers and the Pipits, and perhaps amongst the occasional
Waders. There is one small family--the Skuas--entirely unrepresented in
my list; I am rather surprised at this as some of them, especially the
Pomatorhine--or, as it is perhaps better known, the Pomerine--Skua,
_Stercorarius pomatorhinus_, and Richardson's Skua, _Stercorarius
crepidatus_, are by no means uncommon on the other side of the Channel,
about Torbay, during the autumnal migration; but I have never seen
either species in the Island, nor have I seen a Channel Island skin, nor
can I find that either the bird-stuffers or the fishermen and the
various shooters know anything about them. I have therefore, though I
think it by no means; unlikely that both birds occasionally occur,
thought it better to omit their names from my list.
Professor Ansted has only mentioned one of the family--the Great Skua,
_Stercorarius catarrhactes_,--in his list, which also may occasionally
occur, as may Buffon's Skua, _Stercorarius parasiticus_; but neither of
these seem to me so likely to occur as the two first-mentioned, not
being by any means so common on the English side of the Channel.
In bringing my labours to a conclusion I must again thank Mr. MacCulloch
and others, who have assisted me in my work either by notes or by
helping in out-door work.
FINIS.
ENDNOTES.
[1] _a_ Alderney.
_e_ Guernsey.
_i_ Jersey.
_o_ Sark.
_u_ Jethou and Herm.]
[2] This was nearly the whole of the Vale, including L'Ancresse Common.
[3] Fourteen "livres tournois" are about equal to £1.
[4] This Act is passed annually at the Chief Pleas after Easter.
[5] _Falco aesalon_, Tunstall, H.S. 1771. _Falco aesalon_, Gmelin, Y.,
1788.
[6] See Temminok.
[7] See 'Birds of Spain,' by Howard Saunders, Esq., published in the
works of the Société Zoologique de France, where he says:--"_C.
ceruginosus_ et _C. cyaneus_ ont les lisières extérieures des remiges
émarginées, jusqu'à et y comprise la cinquième, et cette forme se trouve
en presque toutes les _Circus_ exotiques. En _C. swainsonii_ (the Pallid
Harrier) et _C. cineraceus_ cette émargination successive se borne a la
quatrieme." We have little to do with this distinction, except as
between _C. cyaneus_ and _C. cineraceus, C. aeruginosus_ being otherwise
sufficiently distinct, and _C. swainsonii_ not coming within our limits.
[8] "Tereus," I soon found, as I expected, was Mr. MacCulloch.
[9] These reeds are the common reed Spires, Spire-reed, or Pool-reed.
_Arundo phragmites_. See 'Popular Names of British Plants,' by Dr.
Prior, p. 219.
[10] This name of Temminck is no doubt applied to the Continental form,
_Acredula caudata_, of Linnaeus, not to the British form now elevated
into a species under the name _Acredula rosea_, of Blyth. Owing to want
of specimens I have not been able to say to which form the Channel
Island Long-tailed Tit belongs, probably supposing them to be really
distinct from _A. rosea_. _A. caudata_ may, however, also occur, as both
forms do occasionally, in the British Islands.
[11] See Temminck's 'Man. d'Ornith.'
[12] Dresser's 'Birds of Europe,' _fide_ Degland's Grebe.
[13] Where both forms are common this constantly happens--indeed, so
constantly that Professor Newton, in his new edition of 'Yarrell,' has
made but one species of the Black Crow and the Grey or Hooded Crow,
_Corvus corone_ and _Corvus cornix_, on the several grounds that there
is no structural difference between the two; that their habits, food,
cries, and mode of nidification are the same (in considering this, of
course both forms must be traced throughout the whole of their
geographical range, and not merely through the British Islands); that
their geographical distribution is sufficiently similar not to present
any difficulty; that they breed freely together; and that their
offsprings are fertile, a very important consideration in judging
whether two forms should be separated or joined as one species. This
last seems to me to present the greatest difficulty, and the evidence at
present appears scarcely conclusive. Of course in the limits of a note
to a work like the present it is impossible to discuss so large a
question. I can only refer my readers to Professor Newton's work, where
they will find nearly all that can be said on the subject, and the
reasons which have induced him to come to the conclusion he has.
[14] Rim. Gu., p. 35.
[15] Query, was this done by a migratory flock, as peas would be ripe
about June or July, when migratory flocks of Wood Pigeons would not be
likely to occur; or was the damage to newly sown peas in the spring?
[16] For one instance see notice of the Quail; and the bird-stuffer had
several other eggs besides those in the same nest as the Quails.
[17] _Fide_ Mr. MacCulloch.
[18] See 'Dresser's Birds of Europe.'
[19] For the last, see Temminck's 'Man, d'Ornithologie.'
[20] _See_ 'Zoologist' for 1867, p. 829.
[21] Temminck, 'Man. d'Ornithologie.'
[22] _See_ Temminck, 'Man. d'Ornithologie.'
[23] The one above mentioned.
[24] See 'Zoologist' for 1870, p. 2244.
[25] "Hucard" in Guernsey French (see 'Metevier's Dictionary,') who also
says "Notre Hucard est le Whistling Swan ou Hooper des Anglais."
[26] See Temminck's 'Man. d'Ornithologie.'
[27] See also Métivier's Dictionary.
[28] See note in 'Zoologist' for 1866.
[29] 'De la Mue du Bec et des Ornements Palpébraux du Macareux Arctique
après la Saison des Amours.' Par le Docteur Louis Bureau; 'Bulletin de
la Société Zoologique de France.'
[30] 'Zoologist' for 1869.
[31] _See_ Temininck, 'Man. d'Ornithologie.'
[32] Temminck, 'Man. d'Ornithologie.'
[33] Le Tas is often written L'Etat, but, as Professor Ansted says,
"There can be no doubt it alludes to the form of the rock, viz., 'Tas,'
a heap such as is made with hay or corn."