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Albert R.. Mann Libjus^ry 
 
 Cornell Univeflsity 
 
Edward P. Street^ Jr. 
 
THE GYRFALCON 
 
 Falco gyrfalco . 
 
THE 
 
 BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM BORRER, M.A., F.L.S., 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 R. H. POETER, 18 PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQtJARE 
 
 1891. 
 
EEINTED BY TATXOR AND PEANCIS, 
 BED LION COCBT, FI;I!ET STBEEt. 
 
TO THE BEVEEED MEMOBY OF 
 
 l^ 4^ihiT, 
 
 IN WHOSE BOTANICAL EAMBLES I WAS SO OFTEN ASSOCIATED, 
 
 AND FKOM WHOM I INHERITED THAT LOVE OF NATUKB 
 
 WHICH HAS BEEN AN EVBR-SPEINGING 
 
 SOURCE OF ENJOYMENT THROUGHOUT A LONG LIFE, 
 
 I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME. 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 It is now nearly a hundred years since Markwick, tlie 
 friend and correspondent of Gilbert White, read before the 
 Linnean Society, on May 5thj 1795, his ' Catalogue of 
 Birds found in the county of Sussex,' numbering 168 
 species, including those which are domesticated. About 
 the year 1800, Mr. Woolgar, of Lewes, made a list of birds 
 observed by him in that neighbourhood, which may be found 
 in Horsfield's * History of Lewes.' In 1849, Mr. Knox 
 published the first edition, and in 1855 the third, of his 
 'Ornithological Rambles in Sussex,' quoted in this work as 
 " 0. R." Since that time, as far as I am aware, no attempt 
 has been made to give a comprehensive account of its 
 avifauna; there are, however, several local Societies, — as 
 those of Brighton, Chichester, Eastbourne, Hastings, and 
 Lewes, — which, from time to time, publish their 'Trans- 
 actions,' and doubtless do good work in their respective 
 districts. There is also a Museum at Chichester, and one 
 at Brighton, as well as the splendidly mounted collection 
 of the late Mr. Booth, recently made over to. that town. 
 There have been, and there still are, many accurate observers 
 ■who contribute accounts of interesting occurrences in the 
 county to the pages of 'The Zoologist,' especially Mr. 
 Button, Mr. JefEery, Mr. Monk, and Mr. Wilson, who for 
 many years have been its correspondents. 
 
vi PREFACE, 
 
 Having teeiij through a long life, resident in the county, 
 and from my earliest years taken the greatest interest in 
 Ornithology, and being assured by friends, for whose 
 judgment I have the highest respect, that a further con- 
 tribution, enumerating the birds of Sussex up to the present 
 time, would be desirable, I have employed some leisure 
 hours in recording, partly from my own notes, and partly 
 from those kindly placed at my disposal by friends and 
 correspondents of many years, such facts as I deemed might 
 be of interest in illustrating the nature and habits of our 
 native birds. 
 
 These I have supplemented by information from various 
 ancient and modern sources, to which I have, in every case, 
 given references, and have brought up the number of the 
 birds of the county to 297, following the arrangement and 
 nomenclature of the 4th edition of ' Yarrell's British Birds.' 
 In conclusion, I beg to offer my most cordial acknowledg- 
 ments to those who have so kindly assisted me, and chiefly 
 to Professor Newton, to whom I am greatly indebted not 
 only for looking over my manuscript, but also for many 
 invaluable suggestions, and without whose kindly encourage- 
 ment I should not, at my advanced age, have undertaken the 
 work. To J. E. Harting, Esq., F.L.S., who has favoured 
 me with several original and useful notes; to the Rev. 
 R. N. Dennis, formerly Rector of East Blatchington, a 
 friend and correspondent of many years; to Mr. Ellman^ 
 formerly of Glynde, Mr. Jeffery, of Ratham, Chichester, and 
 T. Parkin, Esq., of Hastings, who most kindly placed at my 
 disposal their private notes, extending over a long period' 
 and quoted as p. n. ; and to many other ladies and gentle- 
 men, some personally unknown to me, who have, most 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 courteously replied to my enquiriesj or volunteered informa- 
 tion, in many cases taking considerable trouble on my 
 behalf, I tender my most sincere thanks. 
 
 I would also desire to record my obligations to the several 
 Taxidermists of our towns, who have most obligingly 
 furnished me with notices and particulars of rare species, 
 which have, from time to time, come into their hands, 
 especially Messrs. Pratt, of Queen's Koad, Brighton, whom 
 I have known for many years, and have always found most 
 intelligent and reliable; Mr. Bristow, the well-known 
 naturalist of St. Leonard's-on-Seaj Mr. Bates, of East- 
 bourne; Mr. Brazenor, of Western Road, Brighton; Mr. 
 Ellis, of Arundel ; Mr. May, of East Grinstead ; and Mr. 
 Potter, now of Carlisle. 
 
 The few plates with which this work is embellished are by 
 the pencil of Mr. J. G. Keulemans, the Gyr Falcon and 
 the Honey Buzzard being portraits of specimens in my own 
 collection. 
 
 W. BORRER, 
 
 CowroLD, Sussex. 
 
 November, 1890. 
 
INTEODUCTION. 
 
 On putting forth this little account o£ the ' Birds of Sussex,' 
 it may perhaps be ■well to give a general idea of the natural 
 features of the county, which measures about seventy-six 
 miles in length by some twenty-seven in breadth. It is 
 bounded on the north by Surrey and Kent ; on the south by 
 the English Channel, the coast line being about eighty-six 
 miles in extent; on, the east by Kent, and on the west by 
 Hants. The geological formation of Sussex may, speaking 
 generally, be divided into three principal portions through- 
 out its whole length : namely that of the Chalk, comprising 
 the South and Western Downs ; the Weald, consisting 
 chiefly of what is known as Wealden Clay ; and the Sand, 
 which forms a narrow band between the two. Besides these 
 there are comparatively small deposits of Bracklesham and 
 London clays, of which the most considerable extends about 
 ten miles south from Chichester to Selsey BiU, and about 
 twenty east and west from the boundaries of Hants to 
 within a few miles of Worthing, being, however, now and 
 then broken into by the Chalk. Again, about the courses of 
 the rivers, there are narrow alluvial deposits, becoming 
 wider towards their mouths, and at the eastern end of the 
 county are two large beds of alluvium, blown sand, and 
 shingle, forming the Levels of Pevensey, Rye, and Winchel- 
 sea. The ancient forest of Anderida is described by the 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Venerable Beie, about the year 731, as " thick and inacces- 
 sible/-" and as a place of shelter for large herds of deer and 
 swine, as well as wolves; and we learn from the Saxon 
 Chronicle that in a.d. 893 it extended from east to west 
 one hundred and twenty miles, and from north to south 
 from eighty to ninety miles, making it nearly co-extensive 
 with the Weald in Sussex, Kent, and Surrey. It is now so 
 greatly curtailed by clearing and by cultivation that little 
 remains but the forests of St. Leonard, Tilgate, and Ash- 
 down. From the time of the Romans to that of Charles II., 
 large portions of these forests were greatly reduced by the 
 practice of felling trees for charcoal, to be used in the 
 extensive manufacture of iron ; but in his reign, on account 
 of the great destruction of the oak-timber consumed in 
 smelting it, the portion now known as St. Leonardos was 
 disforested, and made a deer-park, thus, of course, doing 
 more harm than good, as every young oak was browsed' 
 down by the deer. There is a small portion of the ancient 
 woodland called Charlton Forest, situated on the north slope 
 of the Western Downs, the only part of them which still has 
 natiA'e timber. The whole of the county, however, with the 
 exception of the Downs and the levels of the rivers, is still 
 very well wooded, as may be seen by any one looking down 
 upon it from their summits. This is, in a great measure, 
 caused by the practice of the original reclaimers, of leaving 
 a strip of wood, in this county called a Shaw, of several 
 yards in width, around each enclosure for the preservation 
 of timber, the oak of Sussex being considered the best in 
 existence for the use of the Navy ; and it is still the pre- 
 vailing tree throughout the county, though more especially 
 on the clay. There are two distinct species, the Quercus 
 pedunculata, or robur, and the Q. sessiliflora, of which the 
 former is by far the commoner, and, from its greater dura- 
 bility, very superior as timber to the latter for naval purposes. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xi 
 
 The Q. sessiliflora is found in various parts of the countyj 
 for example near Cowfold and Cuckfield, and in several 
 parts of St. Leonard's Forest, as at Coolhurst and Slaugham, 
 ^nd to the westwai'd at Goodwood. This oak, though 
 undoubtedly indigenouSj but not so common in Sussex as in 
 some other counties, is said to have been largely increased 
 by the introduction into some parts of England, several 
 ages ago, of large importations from the Continent, 
 especially from the forests of Germany. It has been said 
 that the numerous complaints of our ships being infected 
 with what is generally called dry-rot were owing to the 
 introduction of this species into our naval dockyards, where 
 the distinction was not even suspected until a very few years 
 since. However this may be when it is used in so confined 
 a situation as the hold of a ship, it has been indisputably 
 proved that the timber of Quercus sessiliflora is exceedingly 
 durable in places exposed to a free current of air ; for the 
 roofs of many of our oldest buildings, for example, those of 
 Westminster Hall and St. Alban's Abbey, are certainly built 
 of it, though the timbers had been long mistaken for Spanish 
 chestnut, and are still found to be in good condition*. 
 With respect to the belt of sand, which extends from near 
 Petersfield, on the borders of Hants, to Pevensey Level in 
 the east of Sussex, a considerable extent of the western 
 portion of it is occupied by heath. Other parts, however, 
 are capable of the highest cultivation. 
 
 Having now given a slight sketch of the interior of the 
 county, I pass to the coast, which, from Brighton to East- 
 bourne, consists of cliffs rising to various heights from the 
 former town till they attain their greatest elevation, some 
 
 * See a paper read by Mr. Wyatt Papworth, at a meeting: of the 
 Royal Institute of British Architects, held on June 14, 1858, and 
 observations by the same gentleman at another meeting of that body on 
 May 20th, 1878. 
 
xii INTEODUOTION. 
 
 six hundred feet, at Beachy Head, or, as it was formerly 
 spelt, Beauchef Head, and indeed it well deserves this 
 appellation. Here the cliflFs terminate abruptly, and Peven-^ 
 sey Level continues till beyond Hastings, the sandy cliffs 
 there being low and gradually falling to the Levels of 
 Rye and Winchelsea. Westward of Brighton the coast is 
 level and somewhat flat, and so continues to the border 
 of Hants. 
 
 Of the Rivers of Sussex, none of which are of any size, 
 beginning from the east, we have the Rother, which rises 
 in the parish of Rotherfield, and, passing Mayfield, receives 
 a small tributary from Wadhurst, and flowing by Etching- 
 ham and Salehurst, enters Kent, and returning to Sussex, 
 south of the Isle of Oxney, expands into an estuary, and 
 falls into the sea about two miles south-east of the town of 
 Rye. The Cuckmere, rising not far from Heathfield, forms 
 near its mouth a narrow tract of level country, which seems 
 particularly attractive to Wildfowl in the winter, the sea 
 there being somewhat sheltered by cliffs, enabling them to 
 spend their days upon the water in comparative quietude, 
 the grassy marshes affording convenient feeding-places by 
 night. The Ouse rises partly near Slaugham, on the 
 borders of St. Leonard's Forest, and partly near Worth, and 
 uniting its streams, meanders eastward through a well- 
 wooded and cultivated tract of country, and receiving 
 several inconsiderable affluents, passes through the exten- 
 sive Levels of Lewes to the sea at Newhaven. 
 
 The springs of the Adur (profanely called the Weald 
 Ditch) rise under the Downs, near Clayton, and joining two 
 small streams from Bolney and Cuckfield, near the bridge 
 at Wyndham, it proceeds to Mock Bridge, there receiving 
 another tributary from the Leach Pond in St. Leonard's 
 Forest, and all flow together to Eaton's Farm, in the parish 
 of Henfield, where a branch falls in, which, rising near 
 
INTKODUCTION. xiii 
 
 ItcMugfield, passes through West Grinstead and Shipley to 
 the Henfield Level. There another branch is received, 
 rising from between the Chalk and Greensand under the 
 Devil's Dyke; the united streams then, passing Bramber, 
 fall into the sea at Shoreham. 
 
 The Arun, the largest of our rivers, rises near the great 
 pond at Ifield, whence it flows through the mill-pond at 
 Warnham into the parish of Slinfold, and nearly to Lox- 
 wood, near which it joins a stream originating under Leith 
 Hill, in Surrey, and passing a little east of Wisborough 
 Green, receives a tributary from Shillinglee Park and 
 another from the Hawkins, Hammer, and Birchin ponds, 
 near Horsham. It then receives the Western Rother 
 (which, rises in Black Down) about halfway between Stop- 
 ham and Pulborough, and flowing through the wide meadows, 
 formerly marshes, known as Amberley Wildbrook, and past 
 the town of Arundel, reaches the sea at Littlehampton. 
 
 The Lavant, which, often dry for months, is remarkable 
 for being fullest of water in the hottest weather, rises from 
 under the Chalk in Charlton Forest, and flows by Chichester 
 into the estuary known as Chichester Harbour, near the 
 village of Wittering. 
 
 These rivers are all of them subject to heavy floods, from 
 the narrowness of their mouths, and the enormous drainage 
 of the country, proving, of course, very attractive to many 
 species of birds. Pagham Harbour, which was formerly a 
 perfect paradise for the ornithologist, has now, unfortunately 
 for him, entirely disappeared, the sea having been a few 
 years since banked out, and the mud-lands reclaimed and 
 brought under cultivation. The estuary forming Chichester 
 Harbour extends from Fishbourne to the sea, and is some 
 seven miles in length j soon after being joined by Bosham 
 Creek, it expands into a large sheet of water nearly three 
 miles in width, to the border of the county at Emsworth 
 
xiv INTRODUCTION, 
 
 Channel, and contains the Isle knojyn as Thorney Island. 
 It measures, from Prinsted to the sea, about five miles, the 
 ■whole of this being, at low water, on both sides of its central 
 channel, a vast extent of muddy banks and flats, very 
 attractive to Waders and Seafowl in the summer, and in the 
 winter the resort of various Ducks and other birds. 
 
 The many changes of the last half-century have greatly 
 interfered with ornithology in this county, as in others. 
 The whole of Sussex is now intersected with railways, not 
 only inland but along the coast, nearly the whole of what 
 may be called the maritime district being traversed by a 
 line of rails extending from Brighton to the extreme western 
 limit of the county, the whistle of the steam-engine taking 
 the place of that of the Wildfowl and the Wader. The 
 estuaries, formerly abounding in these species, are now far 
 more disturbed by traffic than they used to be ; and much 
 of the marsh-land has been brought under cultivation. Tte 
 last of the grand morasses of the western division, the 
 Amberley Wildbrook, is converted into so-called smiling 
 meadows, re-echoing with the lowing of cattle instead of 
 the hollow boom of the Bittern and the croak of the Heron. 
 The Downs too, once the peaceful haunt of the Bustard and 
 the Lapwing, or disturbed only by the shepherd and his 
 flock, are now to a great extent broken up by cultivation, 
 and harassed by the rattle of the steam-plough. The Clio's 
 have in many places been scarped down, or shattered by the 
 engineer, thus destroying the favourite resorts of many 
 wild birds. The inland aspect of the county, too, is much 
 changed from what it was in former times. Where are the 
 splendid stretches of heather ? the sedgy bottoms ? and 
 where are the Black Game ? 
 
 The whole tribe, too, of Hawks and Owls, though to a 
 certain extent destructive, were useful to the Game pre- 
 server and the farmer, — ^to the one by destroying the weakly 
 
INTRODUCTION. xv 
 
 individualSj and thus leaving only the most healthy birds 
 for the stock of game ; to the other by keeping down 
 the multitude of rats, mice, and other vermin which do the 
 farm more injury than all the birds of prey have ever done, 
 and which have most destructively increased throughout the 
 county in general, a state of things which can never be 
 remedied till every country gentleman gives strict orders to 
 his keepers to carefully preserve all birds of prey, and sees 
 that his instructions are carried out. At the present time 
 these birds have either entirely ceased to breed in the 
 county, or have become so diminished in numbers, that 
 with the exception of the really mischievous Sparrow-hawk 
 and the harmless Kestrel, a bird of prey is rarely to be met 
 with. To these causes may be added the wholesale destruc- 
 tion of small birds by the bird-catchers, the increased 
 population, and the constant improvement in firearms of all 
 kinds. 
 
 On the other hand, however, we have derived a certain 
 degree of benefit by the late Acts of Parliament for the 
 preservation of many species during the breeding-season, 
 and from the increasing attention given to Natural History 
 in general. 
 
 Notwithstanding all the drawbacks I have mentioned, 
 the county still presents an interesting field for future 
 investigation, and in the woodland districts there are still 
 abundance of songsters and other of the migratory birds, 
 though on the clay-land I have observed that there are 
 fewer individuals, though perhaps not fewer species, than on 
 the sandy districts, but a very few miles ofE ; a circumstance 
 which I think may perhaps be attributed to the comparative 
 lightness of the soil there affording greater facilities for 
 dusting, which all birds at times require, and which the 
 weaker species find some diflBculty in obtaining on the clay, 
 as when the weather has been wet it is a long time before 
 
xvi INTEODUOTION. 
 
 the soil will pulverize, and when very dry it is too hard for 
 them to be able to scratch it up. 
 
 Although I am quite sensible of many defects in my work, 
 and have made no attempt at science, I still hope that it 
 may be found of some interest to the general reader as well 
 as to lovers of Ornithology, and may tend to make known 
 the present state of the Bird-life of the county ; and as will, 
 I think, be seen, no pains have been spared in verifying the 
 occurrence of the rarer examples. It only remains to me 
 to mention m.y reasons for omitting a few which have been 
 accepted as Sussex birds ; and first, respecting the Golden 
 Eagle. Though Markwick mentions it as having occurred 
 at Bexhillj he does so on very insufficient evidence, and 
 there can be little doubt that he was mistaken, for the 
 following reasons : he makes no allusion whatever to the 
 White-tailed, Sea, or Cinereous Eagle, which has occurred 
 several times in that very district, and in his time fhe 
 different species of Eagles were not properly distinguished. 
 The Golden Eagle, too, has never since been seen in the 
 county ; thus it may be fairly concluded that the bird he 
 records was nothing more than the White-tailed Eagle, 
 The Canada Goose, as its name implies, is a Nearctic 
 species ; I have not included it because, though specimens 
 have been frequently met with in Sussex, there is little 
 doubt that all have been escaped birds bred on, or in the 
 neighbourhood of, the numerous pieces of water on which 
 they have been for many years kept in a semi-domesticated 
 state, and whence young birds, which could not be captured 
 and pinioned, naturally, especially in severe weather, dis- 
 perse over the country in search of food. To the Egyptian 
 Goose, an African species, the foregoing remarks will equally 
 apply. The Hooded Merganser, as I have explained in my 
 accoimt of the Goosander, has been erroneously mentioned 
 as a Sussex bird. 
 
INTEODUCTION. xvii 
 
 Concerning the Owls formerly in the Keep of Arundel 
 CastlCj which I believe were generally supposed to be Eagle 
 Owls, and were mentioned as such by Mr. Knox in O. R. 
 p. 91, as they were for many years a great attraction to 
 visitors, a few words may be expected, though they have no 
 claim to be called Sussex birds. I may say that when I saw 
 them many years ago I had no doubt that they were the 
 Virginian species, in which opinion I am confirmed by the 
 following notice in ' The Beauties of England and Wales,' 
 vol xiv. p. 82, by E. Shoberl, where, speaking of the Keep 
 of Arundel Castle, he says : "The Owls which are kept here 
 were a present to the Duke from North America." This 
 was published in 1813. Mr. J. H. Gurney kindly made 
 enquiries for me of the present Duke, who most courteously 
 gave all the information in his power, stating that he 
 believed it to be the fact that the Owls were introduced 
 into the Keep by Charles, the 11th Duke, who died in 1815, 
 and that some were still remaining when he himself came 
 to the title in 1860, but that during his minprity they 
 gradually disappeared from the Castle, though two were 
 remaining in a garden in the town up to the end of 1869. 
 Mr. Mostyn, the Duke's agent, kindly forwarded me a 
 letter from an old man, for many years the custodian of the 
 Owls, who states that they occasionally bred in the Keep, 
 producing but one egg in the season, and hatching it ; but 
 in 1859 one bird laid three eggs, which produced three fine 
 young, which grew to maturity. One of the Owls, which 
 had long been known as " Lord ThurloWj" at last laid an egg, 
 which was the subject of considerable amusement. Mr. 
 Gurney had a cutting from the ' West Sussex Gazette ' of 
 1859, stating that one of the Arundel Owls, believed to be 
 the original " Lord Thurlow," had just died, supposed to be 
 about a hundred years old. 
 
 Three were at one time several Decoys in the county : 
 
 b 
 
xviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 at Firle, the only one now worked, tte captures at which are 
 very small j at Tangmere, Angmering, Tortington, Glynde) 
 and Peasmarsh, all of which have ceased to he worked, on 
 account of the increased drainage and the disturbance 
 caused by the railways ; but all my attempts to obtain any 
 of the Decoy books, or indeed any information as to the 
 number or species formerly captured, or anything whatever 
 beyond what has been stated by Sir Ralph Payne Gallwey, 
 in his lately published interesting and exhaustive work, 
 ' The Book of Duck Decoys,' have failed, except in the 
 case of that at Ratton, the proprietor of which, Freeman 
 Thomas, Esq., most courteously forwarded me a book of 
 entries dating from 1793 to 1827, and from 1852 to 1861. 
 The only species mentioned are the Wild Duck, Teai and 
 Wigeon, Winders, which name is applied to the Wigeon, 
 though I never before heard of the term in Sussex, and 
 Divers, which may allude to the Scaup Duck, which is 
 generally known by this name. Of these, the numbers 
 caught from 1793 to 1827 were, of Ducks 2903, of Teal 446, 
 of Wigeon only 2. There is no further entry till 1852, 
 from which date to 1861 there appear to have been taken, 
 of Ducks 8326, of Teal 5075, of Wigeon 175. Besides 
 these there are recorded 827 head of Ducks and Teal 
 mingled together, as well as 25 Winders and 7 Divers. My 
 thanks are also due to E. J. Mostyn, Esq., the agent to the 
 Duke of Norfolk, who most kindly forwarded to me a copy 
 of the information supplied to Sir Ralph Payne Gallwey. 
 
 In conclusion I will only add, that as I have found it 
 a life-long pleasure to investigate the works of the Creator, 
 so wonderfully and beautifully displayed in the Natural 
 History of the " Fowls of the air," so I hope that the 
 results of my studies, thus presented in this volume, may 
 help those who come after me to enjoy the same pleasure. 
 
THE 
 
 BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 FALCONID^. 
 
 WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 
 
 Haliceetus albicilla. 
 
 An Eagle of this species was shot at'Shoreham by the land- 
 lord of the Dolphin Hotel in that place, where I saw it in 
 1841. It was in immature plumage, and had been killed 
 some years before. In one of my own notes, made at the 
 time, I find that a specimen of this Eagle was killed in 1839 
 near Newhaven. The white was just beginning to show on 
 the outer feathers at the base of the tail. This bird passed 
 into the hands of Mr. H. Morgan, then of Lugwardine, 
 Herefordshire. Having seen in the ' Sussex Express' news- 
 paper of December 30, 1844, a notice of an Eagle taken near 
 Northheath, I wrote to the late Mr. Knox, who replied : — 
 "The Eagle to which you refer is an immature Sea- 
 Eagle trapped in one of the large woods on the Cowdray 
 estate." In the early spring I have twice seen an Eagle 
 pass over — one at Portslade, the other at Henfield, — both going 
 
 B 
 
2 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 eastward, but have not the dates. In a letter from Mr. R. 
 N. DenniS; dated February 22nd, 1855, he informs me that 
 an Eagle was seen by one of the men of the Coastguard, near 
 Seaford. The bird had established himself on a high spit of 
 beach, which became an island at high tide, to which he 
 carried his prey in order to dine in security, and from 
 whence he kept a vigilant look-out on all around. He was 
 quite unapproachable, but the Preventive men could watch 
 all his proceedings with the glass with the greatest ease, as 
 he was in full view of them from their station-house. 
 
 On the 26th of December, 1864, as I was in a vehicle 
 about a mile and a half eastward of Henfield, my attention 
 was attracted to a large brown mass, near the top of an oak 
 tree. As I could not satisfy myself that it was a bird at all, 
 I asked the driver what he thought of it. He, not hearing 
 what I said, immediately stopped the carriage, by which 
 means the brown mass, being only about a hundS-ed yards off, 
 was startled, and, on its. rising up, we could distinctly see 
 that it was an Eagle, and that the tail was entirely white. 
 It then glided away tow/irds a large wood, and we last saw it 
 Hying eastward ; but I was informed that it was seen again 
 the next day, not far from the spot where we first observed 
 it. This bird was, of course, adult; and as I learn, on 
 the best authority, that in no other instance, of late years, 
 has an adult Sea- Eagle been reported in England in a wild 
 state, this circumstance rather leads to the suggestion that 
 the one we saw might have escaped from confinement. In 
 Mr. Knox's O. R. (pp. 40, 43) several occurrences of the 
 Sea-Eagle are mentioned, viz. : — the one before referred to 
 at the Dolphin Hotel at Shoreham ; another, shot in 1841 at 
 Rottingdean, where it had been observed for about a month ■ 
 a third, killed at Windmill Hill, in the parish of Wartling 
 in January 1844; as well as a fourth on Pevensey Level 
 about 1845. Beside these, one is mentioned as having been 
 
WHITE-TAILED EAQLE.— OSPEEY. 3 
 
 trapped in one of the large woods on the Cowdray estate, 
 which must be distinct from that recorded as taken on the 
 same estate just when the first edition of that work was 
 passing through the press, namely in 1849. The ' Zoologist ' 
 records : — " A magnificent specimen of this Eagle was shot in 
 December 1859, feeding on a dead turtle, at Birling gap. 
 It had been seen in the neighbourhood for several days" 
 (p. 6889). A female Eagle, in fine plumage, taken while 
 feeding on a gull, near Shoreham ; she had the tail about two 
 thirds white, and was preserved by Mr. Pratt, of Brighton 
 (p. 8875). And another immature specimen, shot by the 
 head keeper of Lord Gage, in the Compton Wood, Firle 
 Park, preserved by Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton (p. 1512). 
 An immature bird was obtained at Shoreham harbour, in 
 February 1881, where it had been seen for a few days feeding 
 on the rejectamenta on the beach, picking up its food near 
 the water, and retiring with it to the full of the beach, where 
 it was very difficult to approach. As this term full of the 
 beach may very probably be an expression which, except to 
 an inhabitant of the coast of Sussex, might not be intelli- 
 gible, I will here explain that it is applied by the sailors, 
 fishermen, coastguard, and all whose vocations lead them to 
 pass a large portion of their lives on the beach, to that part 
 of it which has been cast up to a higher point than the rest 
 by some unusually high tide, and remains the highest point, 
 till again removed by some remarkable storm, or some still 
 more extraordinary tide. 
 
 OSPREY. 
 
 Pandion haliceetus. 
 
 On June 14th, 1843, I saw one of these birds flying near 
 some large ponds at Bolney, and I heard, from Mr. Marshall 
 
 b2 
 
4 , THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 of that place, ttat it had been for some days observed there, 
 fishing -with great, success. After catching a fish, it retired 
 to some neighbouring trees, and, when it left the pond 
 altogether, it always took a north-yvesterly direction, some- 
 times carrying a fish with it. It, at first, visited the ponds 
 daily, and was tolerably approachable, but, after having been 
 twice inefi'ectually shot at, it came much less frequently, 
 until its last appearance on July 3nd. About the same time 
 I saw an Osprey capture, and fly away with, a good-sized 
 tench, from a pond a few hundred yards from my house at 
 Cowfold. I say tench, as there is no other kind of fish in 
 the pond. As Cowfold is only some three miles from Bolney, 
 this was probably the same bird. 
 
 On the 1st of September, 1843, two Ospreys were seen 
 fishing and settling on some trees on the north side of the 
 Upper Mill pond at Bolney, but could not be approached 
 within shot. These birds were observed aboftt the ponds 
 and neighbouring brooks during the whole of October. 
 
 On September the 16th, 1866, I saw an Osprey in the 
 second year's plumage, which had been shot at Bishopstone, 
 and was being preserved by Mr. Pratt, of Brighton; it was 
 too much injured by shot for the sex to be distinguished. 
 About the same time and place another, but this was 
 neglected and spoiled. 
 
 In O. R. (p. 45) the Bolney birds are mentioned from 
 notes given by me to the author, who also records a female 
 killed at Lye Pond, near Cuckfield, a specimen shot near 
 Amberley in 1846, and another at Siddlesham. The bird 
 mentioned in O. R. (p. 48) as knocked down by a shepherd 
 boy with his crook, came into my possession, and was given 
 by me to Mr. H. Morgan, of Lugwardine in Herefordshire. 
 This was a fully adult bird. 
 
 The Osprey has been shot on the Adur at Shoreham, and 
 on the same river at Beeding, and has occurred near 
 
OSPREY.— GYRFALCON. 5 
 
 Chichester and Brighton, on Pevensey Level, and at Rye 
 Harbour (O. R. p. 46) . 
 
 Mr. Dennis informed me, by letter, that an Osprey had 
 been shot on the Castle Hill, Newhaven, on the 33rd of 
 August, 1862, and observed that he had not heard of one in 
 that neighbourhood for eighteen years. In November 1848 
 an Osprey was killed at Udimore (Zoologist, p. 2346) , and 
 in September 1867 one was shot at West Wittering, and 
 about the same time another specimen was obtained at 
 Littlehampton (Zoologist, p. 1034). 
 
 The Osprey being, in England, strictly migratory, not 
 unfrequently occurs in an adult state, whereas with the 
 Eagle exactly the contrary is the case. 
 
 Since writing the above, I have received notes from 
 Mr. Jeffery, in which he states that an Osprey was killed at 
 Stanstead, near Chichester, on the 16th of October, 1863. 
 
 GYKFALCON. 
 
 Falco gyrfalco. 
 
 Only one specimen of this bird appears to have occurred in 
 Sussex, and it is now in my own collection. I obtained it 
 from Mr. Ellman, who informed me that it had been shot at 
 Mayfield in January 1845, during severe weather ; it was in 
 the act of devouring a pigeon on the top of a wheat-stack. 
 Mr. Ellman had had it some years when I saw it, and he 
 considered it to be a light- coloured specimen of F. pere- 
 grinus; but I convinced, him that it was one of the Gyr- 
 falcons, and he has recorded it as such in the ' Zoologist ' 
 for 1851 (p. 3233), stating it to be an "immature" bird. 
 
 In Yarrell's 'British Birds,' vol. i. (p. 49), the same bird 
 is mentioned, from my information, as F. islandicus, which 
 
6 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 I then considered it to be; and it is also so recorded 
 in Mr. Harting's ' Handbook of British Birds/ on ray 
 authority. 
 
 In order to rectify my unfortunate error, I quote the fol- 
 lowing from 'Zoologist' for 1884 (p. 371) : — "This specimen 
 subsequently passed into the collection of Mr. Borrer, of 
 Cowfold, where I had recently the pleasure of examining it, 
 and of identifying it as a genuine example of Hierofalco 
 gyrfalco, not ' immature ' as stated by Mr, Ellman, but in 
 fully adult plumage and in excellent preservation. The very 
 great rarity of British specimens of this Falcon induces me 
 to record my opinion that this example is referable to 
 H. gyrfalco, and not, as catalogued in Mr. Harting's ' Hand- 
 hook of British Birds/ to H. islandicus. — J. H. Gurni;y, 
 Northrepps, Norwich." 
 
 I have therefore no hesitation in designating this specimen 
 as above. 
 
 This species has not hitherto been recorded as British. In 
 Yarrell, vol. i. p. 47, is this observation : — " It is quite pos- 
 sible that examples of the true Gyr Falcon have occurred in 
 these islands, and have been mistaken for the commoner 
 form." 
 
 GREENLAND FALCON. 
 
 Falco candicans. 
 
 Like the last-mentioned species, I can find but one example 
 of this Falcon occurring in Sussex. 
 
 It was a female in good plumage, shot on Sept. 26th, 1883, 
 on the top of Bullock's Hill, near Balsdean, in the Lewes 
 neighbourhood J and being taken into Lewes market, was 
 bought by Mr. Monk, who sent it to Brighton to be preserved 
 
GREENLAND FALCON. -PEREGRINE FALCON. 7 
 
 by Mr. Swaysland. It had been seen for some time on the 
 Downs. While it was in his possession it was seen by 
 Mr. Grurney, who thus records his opinion : — " I found it to 
 be a fine adult Hierofalco candicans (Gmel.), of a medium 
 character as regards the extent of its dark markings, but I 
 think inclining to the light rather than to the darker phase 
 of this very variable species. This bird, when shot, had just 
 completed its moult, except as to the quill-feathers of the 
 wings and tail : in the latter only two new feathers had yet 
 appeared, both lateral and one on either side." (' Zoologist,' 
 1883, p. 80.) 
 
 PEREGRINE FALCON. 
 
 Falco peregrinus. 
 
 This bird is resident in the county. A note of m.y own 
 states that an adult female was caught in a trap near Lewes, 
 April 18th, 1841. 
 
 In July of the same year I saw, at Brighton, two examples 
 alive, which had been taken from the nest at Beachy Head 
 on the previous 33rd of May. The male was very tame, but 
 the female was very fierce when interfered with. She made 
 her escape while I was looking at her, and flew over several 
 houses, but allowed herself to be taken again by the man 
 who was accustomed to feed her. Some months aftei-wards 
 these birds came into my possession, and the male, which had 
 just obtained his full plumage, made his escape, and was shot 
 while sitting on a chimney about half a mile ofl^, and was 
 brought to me, and is now in my own collection. I have 
 next recorded an adult male shot at Seaford, March 3nd, 
 1842. In September of that year I saw one on the wing 
 near Henfield, which passed me within about 80 yards. 
 
8 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 An interesting account of the Peregrine Falcon in Sussex 
 is given in O. R. (p. 106)^ in which reference is made to 
 its breeding-places in the high cliifs of Beachy Head and 
 Newhaven, and to specimens appearing in the western division 
 of the county, in the neighbourhood of Chichester, Petworth, 
 and Arundel, as well as in localities nearer to their breeding- 
 places, as Lewes, Newhaven, Seaford, Pevensey, and Rye. 
 One is also recorded as having been taken under the eaves of 
 a barn with a sparrow-net, at Saddescombe, near the Devil's 
 Dyke. Mr. Booth, in his ' Rough Notes on British Birds,' 
 writes that the chalky cliflfs between Rottingdean and Beachy 
 Head harbour great numbers of Peregrines in autumn and 
 winter. The ' Zoologist ' contains several references to the 
 capture of these birds, both young and mature : — 
 
 In May 1849 three taken from the nest (p. 349i), afemaie 
 near Eastbourne in December 1859 (p. 6889), and one 
 killed near Arundel in April 1868 (p. 2059, s. s.). There 
 are also recorded in the volume for 1881 (p. 49) a young 
 male killed near Earnley, in West Sussex ; and in the volume 
 for 1883 (p. 114), a male in fine plumage shot near Hastings 
 in November 1879, and another male shot in Bromham Park, 
 near Guestling, about the same time. 
 
 It is very astonishing that, considering the constant per- 
 secution by gunners of every description, and the frequent 
 harrying of the nests for both eggs and young, this Falcon 
 has not long since abandoned the locality, instead of which 
 I have been repeatedly assured that on the destruction of one 
 of either sex, its place has very shortly afterwards been taken 
 by a new arrival. This may do very well for a time, so long 
 as supplementary spouses are to be met with ; but it is 
 obvious that, with the constantly decreasing numbers of this 
 fine species around our coasts, the day will come, and indeed 
 is probably not far off, when the stock left will be insuf- 
 ficient to furnish the supply. 
 
HOBBY. 9 
 
 PIOBBY. 
 
 Falco subbuteo. 
 
 A SUMMER visitantj making its appearance iti April and 
 leaving the country^ on migration, in the autumn, a few 
 occasionally remaining rather late. I am not aware of its 
 having been found breeding in Sussex, or of any very young 
 birds having been obtained. It feeds on beetles and dragon- 
 flies, as well as on small birds &c. It is said to be partial 
 to the deserted nest of a Carrion-Crow as a site for rearing 
 its young. 
 
 I have but few references respecting this species in my 
 own notes. One was seen on the shore near Worthing, on 
 the 13th of May, 1841, and another, an immature bird, was 
 shot at Poynings on August 15th of the same year. I have 
 also noted that a mature male was shot at Cowfold while 
 attempting to take a young tame Pigeon, which he had struck, 
 close to a farmhouse, on April 35th, 1879. In the autumn, 
 about 1880, a Hobby was picked up in the garden of the 
 vicarage at Cowfold, and was kindly sent to me by the vicar. 
 This, which is a mature male, had apparently been killed by 
 flying against one of the windows of the house. A few years 
 since an adult bird was sent from Pagham to my friend 
 Mr. Harting, while he was on a visit to me at Cowfold. 
 
 The late Mr. Knox, in his O. E. (pp. 113 to 115), men- 
 tions the courage and address of one of these birds in pur- 
 suit of a wounded Partridge, and that of another which he 
 shot near Petworth while chasing a Turtle-Dove ; and also 
 notes tliat there is a specimen of the Hobby in Chichester 
 Museum, which was shot at Halnaker in September 1836, 
 and that he " had observed it near the great beech-woods 
 during the autumn, and, indeed, it is at this season that the 
 Hobby is generally killed." 
 
10 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 RED-LEGGED FALCON. 
 
 Falco vespertinus. 
 
 A VERY rare summer visitant. In Mr. Dresser's ' Birds 
 of Europe,' vol. vi. p. 94, it is stated that one was shot 
 at Kottingdean in 1851, by Mr. Howard Saunders. I 
 wrote to the latter for further particulars, and, in his reply, 
 dated Oct. 6, 1889, he informed me that he, being at school at 
 the late Dr. Smith's at Rottingdean, and one of the senior 
 boys there, was allowed to take the Doctor's walking- 
 stick gun and wander about in his kitchen-garden to 
 shoot small birds. This garden was fringed with sycamores 
 up to the height at which the wind caught them, and sud- 
 denly the Falco vespertinus alighted on a branch, and he shot 
 it. It was a female or young male, and was mounted in 
 Brighton for Dr. Smith, who had a dozen or so of stuffed 
 birds. Dr. Smith died about 1864, and Mr. Howard Saunders 
 does not know what has become of them. 
 
 The late Mr. Rowley, in his ' Ornithological Miscellany,' 
 vol. i. pt. 2, has the following : — " The Red-legged Falcon 
 paid the Brighton downs a visit on May 20, 1873, when 
 an adult male arrived, of which I sent an account to the 
 ' Field,' May 24. I received two sorts of beetle on which 
 it had been feeding. This bird two days after death 
 became very high, as is usually the case with those which 
 live on beetles and some other insects. This pretty little 
 Falcon breeds in flocks." I saw this at Mr. Swaysland's in 
 the flesh. 
 
 In the 4th ed. of Yarrell's ' British Birds ' it is merely 
 mentioned that the bird has occurred in Sussex. 
 
MERLIN. 11 
 
 MERLIN. 
 
 Falco cesalon. 
 
 On Nov. 3rd, 1842, a female was shot at Bosham. On the 
 19th of Feb., 1844, I saw, near Cowfold, a Merlin rise from 
 the side of a hedge, mount perpendicularly to some height, 
 and again descend close to the same spot, whence it flew off 
 very rapidly, not more than a foot above the ground, over a 
 ploughed field close to the road. It was so close to me at 
 first that I had a good view of the slate-blue colour of the 
 upper parts, showing it to be an adult male. On Jan. 7th, 
 1852, an immature female was shot at Henfield, where I 
 saw it at the shop of Peter Ward, gunsmith.' I have often 
 seen this bird on the open downs in winter. According to 
 Mr. Knox, it prefers the open country to the weald. It 
 nests on the ground, but I have never heard of its having 
 done so in Sussex. 
 
 Mr. Booth states that " on the South Downs these Hawks 
 are not unfrequently captured in the nets of the bird- 
 catchers. At times they dash suddenly down, with an 
 impetuous swoop, and destroy the brace-birds. Occasionally 
 they approach in a more cautious manner. I have noticed 
 them to settle first at some short distance, and then to draw 
 on towards their intended victims. In one instance a very 
 young Falcon alighted on the pull-line, where it remained 
 for several minutes, regardless of half a dozen persons within 
 a distance of twenty yards, its attention being apparently 
 entirely engrossed by the decoys in the net." 
 
 In the 'Zoologist' Mr. EUman writes that a mature 
 female Merlin was shot at Rye Harbour, in February 1849, 
 and that this species appeared, in rather considerable num- 
 bers, in the neighbourhood of Lewes early in October in that 
 
12 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 yearj five specimens falling into the hands of the same person 
 in a very few days. Also that one was brought to him taken 
 alive near Lewes, September 13th, 1850 (pp. 2410, 2698, 
 and 2953) . 
 
 In the same journal (p. 9465) Mr. Dutton states that a 
 male Merlin, with the blue back, was shot at Abbotswood, 
 near Hailshani, early in January 1865. 
 
 This species is entirely a winter visitant, appearing in 
 autumn and departing in spring. 
 
 KESTREL. 
 
 Falco tinnunculus. 
 
 Is resident, as well as partially migratory. 
 
 When the Magpie and the Carrion-Crow abounded in the 
 woods, this Hawk might frequently be found to take posses- 
 sion of their deserted nests for its breeding purposes ; those 
 birds, however, have now become comparatively scarce, 
 which may in some degree account for the Kestrel being 
 also less commonly met with than it was in former days. 
 
 It is very difficult, too, to persuade the farmers and game- 
 keepers that this bird in no way interferes with their interests, 
 and that, as it preys almost entirely on rats, mice, and other 
 small quadrupeds, and on reptiles, it is so far from being an 
 injurious bird, that it is one which ought to be protected for 
 the good it does. 
 
 It is stated in the 4th edition of Yarrell^s ' British Birds ' 
 (vol. i. p. 79) that the remains of frogs, coleopterous insects 
 and their larvae, and earthworms have been found in the 
 stomach of the Kestrel. Mr. Selby, in his ' Illustrations of 
 British Ornithology' (ed. 1, vol. i. p. 44), mentions this 
 bird as sometimes feeding on cockchafers, both taking and 
 
KESTREL.— SPAREOW-HAWK. 13 
 
 eating them while on the wing. Mr. Knox states (O. R. 
 p. 54) that ornithologists are aware that the slowworm 
 {^Anguis fragilis) is constantly devoured by this Falcon, 
 and mentions that a specimen was shot in his neighbourhood 
 in the act o£ killing a large adder. He also quotes an ex- 
 tremely interesting account of the Kestrel from the late 
 Mr. Waterton's 'Essays on Natural History' (1st series, 
 3rd ed. p. 261). Though no kinds of bird appear to be its 
 usual food, that it does sometimes betake itself to them is 
 proved by its occasionally pouncing on the call-birds of the 
 birdcatchers. The Kestrel is generally known in Sussex as 
 the ''Windhover Hawk," or " Windfanner." It appears 
 never to hunt in concert, and its usual habit is to hover a 
 considerable time over its prey, and to take it by dropping 
 suddenly upon it from a height. 
 
 The chalk cliffs in the south of the county seem to be now 
 its principal stronghold, though it has occasionally bred in 
 some of the chalk-pits so numerous on the South Downs. 
 I well remember seeing a pair which appeared to have estab- 
 lished themselves on the spire of Chichester Cathedral. 
 
 SPAREOW-HAWK. 
 
 Accipiter nisus. 
 
 Though this species may be occasionally met \?ith in all 
 parts of the county, it more especially haunts the wooded 
 and enclosed districts. 
 
 There is perhaps a greater disparity in the relative size of 
 the two sexes in this species than in any other of our birds 
 of prey. It is said to construct its own nest, but, like the 
 Kestrel, it is partial to the old ones of the Carrion-Crow or 
 Magpie; it also builds in plantations of fir, especially of 
 
14 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 spruce, in thick ivy on old buildings, and occasionally in the 
 sea-cliffs and chalk-pits, of -which latter, did I not deem it 
 unadvisable, I could point out several which have been 
 frequented by these birds for many years in succession. 
 
 It is one of the boldest of our Hawks, and flies at game as 
 large as Partridges; and I was told by a gamekeeper, not 
 long since, that he was surprised a few days before by seeing 
 one make a dash at an old cock Pheasant sitting on a rail. 
 All keepers look upon it as their most dangerous enemy. 
 Its favourite object of pursuit, however, appears to be the 
 Wood- Pigeon. 
 
 I had, in February 1844, a male Sparrow-Hawk which had 
 been caught in a barn, into which it had pursued a small 
 bird, while two men were there thrashing corn. 
 
 It has not unfrequently been known to strike at a caged 
 bird at a window, and I have twice heard of its dashing 
 through the glass with the same object. ThislHawk, like 
 several others, is occasionally taken in the clap-net. 
 
 In my own district, which is not far from St. Leonard's 
 forest, and is generally well-wooded, this bird may be, even 
 now, called more common than the Kestrel, though both are 
 far less abundant than they were in the olden time. 
 
 KITE. 
 
 Milvus ictinus. 
 
 I HAVE only once seen this bird at large in this county, 
 namely, at Eastbourne, on March 22nd, 1881. When walking 
 westward I saw a bird flying towards me in a very leisurely 
 manner, only just above the surf. I was standing on the 
 sea-wall, and when it came opposite to me it rose to about 
 30 feet above the water, and passed me so closely that I could 
 
KITE. 15 
 
 distinctly see its eyes and its yellow feet ; it then flew off 
 across the bay as if for Hastings. 
 
 An old gamekeeper of my grandfather's, who died in i855j 
 at the age of 73, has often told me that in his younger days 
 the " forky- tailed Kites " were not uncommon in Sussex, and 
 that they gave a great deal of trouble by taking young ducks 
 and chickens from the farm-yards, but I never heard him say 
 anything of their nesting. I probably never asked him. 
 Montagu, in his 'Ornithological Dictionary,' states that a 
 Kite was knocked down with a broom and captured, at a 
 farm near Hastings, while it was attacking young ducks and 
 chickens about the house. 
 
 Mr. Knox mentions the Kite as occurring once near 
 Brighton, and again at Sidlesham, between 1839 and 1849 
 (O. R. 1st edition, p. 184). Mr. Booth writes that while 
 shooting in the neighbourhood of Brighton, in the autumn of 
 1878, he saw one of these birds passing westward at a con- 
 siderable elevation. 
 
 In Willughby's ' Ornithology ' (Book ii. p. 74) , printed in 
 1678, may be found the following trite remarks on the flight 
 of the Kite : — 
 
 " Spreading its Wings it so ballances it self in the Air, that it 
 can rest as it were unmovable a long time in the same place ; 
 yea, without at all, or but rarely moving its Wings, it glides 
 through the Air from place to place ; whence perchance it took 
 its English name Glead .... This sort of Birds (saith 
 Pliny) seems to have taught men the Art of steering a Ship 
 by the turning of their Tails : Nature shewing in the Air what 
 was needful to be done in the Deep. For hence (as Aldrovan- 
 dus goes on) it is probable that men learned to apply a 
 Rudder; viz.. When they saw the Kite, by turning her Tail 
 sometimes this way, sometimes that way, to direct or vary her 
 course, and turn about her body at pleasure; they also 
 attempting somewhat like, added the Helm to the Ship, by 
 
16 THE BIEDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 winding and turning whereof to and fro they could direct 
 and impel it whither they pleased^ which otherwise would be 
 driven uncertainly and at random by the Winds and Tides." 
 
 The nest is generally very bulky and rather flat, and is fre- 
 quently lined with various kinds of rubbish, such as rags, pieces 
 of newspapers, old stockings, as well as green leaves, hair and 
 wool ; and a high tree is usually chosen for its site. It feeds 
 on garbage of every description as well as on any small or 
 wounded animals, and does not object to fish. 
 
 Mr. EUman had in his possession a Kite which was killed 
 some years ago on Mr. Streatfield's property at Uckfield. 
 
 In January 1889 one was shot at Shipley, which was pre- 
 served by Mr. Pratt, of Queen's Road, Brighton. 
 
 COMMON BUZZARD. . 
 
 Buteo vulgaris. 
 
 On referring to my own notes I find the following: — On 
 January 28th, 1841, one, which had been observed about the 
 harbour for some days, was shot on the cliff at Newhaven ; it 
 had a great deal of white about the head. This was in very 
 severe weather. 
 
 December 16th, 1843, another was shot at Stanmer Park, 
 which seemed not to have been very particular about its diet, 
 there being in its interior several earthworms and a shrew, as 
 also the remains of a Redwing. It was an adult female. 
 
 In January 1849 an adult male was shot in Stanmer Park. 
 
 On November 16th, 1850, I saw a male and female, which 
 had been lately obtained near Horsham; the former was 
 much decayed, the other was fresh and was preserved. This 
 last was shot in the act of carrying off a young chicken. 
 
 An adult male was shot at Cowfold, November 14th, 1860. 
 
COMMON BUZZARD. 17 
 
 While partridge-shooting at West Grinsteadj in Septemher 
 1877, I saw a Buzzard circling about at a great height for 
 several hours, but never saw it alight. Thus far my own 
 notes. 
 
 When this species was not uncommon in Sussex, it was, iO 
 distinguished at all, called the " Puttock," but the larger 
 hawks indiscriminately went by the name of Kites. Under 
 this last title I used frequently to see the Common Buzzard 
 in my younger days. 
 
 Respecting the food of this bird Willughby (Ornithology, 
 Book ii. p. 71) has the following : — 
 
 " It feeds not only upon Mice and Moles, but also upon 
 Birds : For out of the stomach of one that we opened we 
 took a small Bird entire, and out of the stomach of another 
 even a Thrush. It is a great destroyer of Conies : Yet for 
 want of better food it will feed upon Beetles, Earth-worms, 
 and other Insects.'" 
 
 The late Mr. Knox considered it one of our most un- 
 common birds. 
 
 Mr. EUman mentions in the ' Zoologist ' (p. 3029) that he 
 obtained a very fine old female from Laughton, in November 
 1850, and (p. 3357) two trapped near Brede in January 
 1852, observing that he did not know of more than twenty 
 specimens having been obtained in the county in the last 
 twenty years. Mr. Wilson says (p. 6604), under date of 
 November 1855, that in the last four years six specimens had 
 been obtained in the vicinity of Worthing (p. 8441). On 
 the 23rd of December, 1862, a fine old female, the plumage 
 a dark chocolate colour, was trapped in the grounds of 
 Battle Abbey ; and in the same journal (p. 491) is found the 
 following from Mr. T. Parkin, of Halton, Hastings : — " On 
 September 27, 1881, a Common Buzizard was brought for 
 preservation to Mr. Bristow, of St. Leonards-on-Sea. It had 
 been shot the day before at the Grove, HoUington, not more 
 
 c 
 
18 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 than half a mile from the town. Mr. W. B. Young, on 
 whose property it was shot, informed me that another was 
 seen the same day, and, a week or so afterwards^ three more." 
 Professor Newton, calling my attention to Markwick's 
 observation (Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. iv. p. 13), remarks that 
 the hirds which pursued the Rooks in Denne Park could 
 hardly have been Moor Buzzards, which do not frequent 
 high trees. They were much more likely to have been 
 Falcons. 
 
 ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD. 
 
 Buteo lagopus. 
 
 A BIRD of this species was taken in a trap in Ashburnham 
 Park, January 1837, and preserved for Mr. Watts of Battle. 
 About the end of October 1839, one was shot near Chichester, 
 and sent to me by the late Mr. F. E. Freeland, of that city. 
 In November 1839 two specimens were shot, and two others 
 taken in traps, near Clayton. Two of these I afterwards 
 saw stuffed. On September 16, 1841, a Rough-legged 
 Buzzard was shot by me at Henfield, while in the act of 
 carrying off a partridge, but it was stopped by the second 
 barrel. 
 
 In O. R. (p. 185) it is stated that this species is not so 
 rare as the preceding, that a sprinkling of these birds is 
 always found in very hard weather, either near the inlets of 
 the sea south of Chichester, the marshy tracts of meadow 
 land near the mouths of the navigable rivers, on Amberley 
 flats, or on Lewes levels, and that an example was trapped at 
 Bosham in January 1839, which was disturbed in the act of 
 devouring a rabbit which it had just killed. A fragment of 
 its prey being used as a bait, the poacher was secured on the 
 following morning. That author also says that he, during 
 
ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD. -HONEY BUZZARD. 19 
 
 that severe weather, examined four specimens, all of which 
 were secured in the western part of the county, and that 
 others had been shot about the same time near Shoreham 
 and Pevensey, and that it had also occurred at Fahner. In 
 the 'Zoologist/ a female is mentioned (p. 6604) obtained 
 in October 1858, and a male, in March 1859, both near 
 Worthing. It is also stated (p. 8493) that a fine female 
 was trapped near St. Leonards-on-Sea ; and, in the volume for 
 1879, one is recorded (p. 109) as having been shot at Witter- 
 ing in November 1876. It is somewhat remarkable that the 
 adult bird has been so seldom obtained in Britain. Stevenson, 
 in his 'Birds of Norfolk ' (vol. i. p. 30), the county in which 
 probably more examples have been taken than in any other, 
 states that he only knew of four which were in mature dress, 
 and to that number Professor Newton, in ' Yarrell's British 
 Birds ' (vol. p. 118), was only able to add one more; so that it 
 is not too much to say that nntU Wolley sent the adult bird 
 from Lapland, no British ornithologist knew what its plumage 
 was. Since writing the above, I hear from Mr. Jeffery that 
 a Rough-legged Buzzard was shot at Up Park, in the parish 
 of Harting, in August or September 1863. 
 
 HONEY BUZZARD. 
 
 Pernis apivorus. 
 
 This bird is a regular summer visitant, receiving additions 
 in the autumn, and as it sometimes remains very late, it has 
 been suggested that it would probably remain with us during 
 the winter if undisturbed ; but as throughout Europe it is 
 as regular a summer visitant as the Swallow, and its food 
 consists for the most part of insects (wasp-grubs especially), 
 I think it could not exist with us when they could not be 
 
 c2 
 
20 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 had. It does not, however, confine itself entirely to insect 
 food, as the remains of earthworms and slugs, as well as of 
 moles, rats, mice, and frogs, have been found in its stomach. 
 Willughby says that it runs very swiftly, 'Hike a hen." It 
 is perfectly harmless, and it is a great pity that it is not 
 protected, and allowed to breed with us, as we have the 
 authority of Gilbert White that it did at Selborne, and of 
 others that it has bred in the New Forest. According to 
 Montagu, it breeds in high trees, forming its nest of sticks 
 of considerable size, intermixed with small twigs with the 
 leaves on, and the lining is composed of green leaves and 
 wool. It generally lays two eggs. I have in my collection 
 three specimens killed in Sussex : — one, in the summer of 
 1837j in Ashburnham Park, and in that of 1841, an old 
 female, shot at Newtimber ; also a young male, shot in Shave 
 Wood in Albourne, in the act of scratching out a wasp's 
 nest. This bird is in remarkable plumage, greatly resem- 
 bling that of the Osprey in its second year. Mr. Dennis, 
 writing to me in August 1858, told me that he had seen a 
 Honey Buzzard which was shot in the month of June of 
 that year, by one of Lord Gage's keepers, in the Plashet, a 
 wood in Pirle Park ; its stomach contained caterpillars and 
 the remains of mice. 
 
 Mr. Knox refers to specimens obtained in the neighbour- 
 hood of Arundel, and in St. Leonards Forest, and between 
 Ashdown Forest and the borders of Kent. He considered 
 this bird decidedly less rare than the Common Buzzard. 
 
 Mr. Ellman mentions (Zoologist, p. 2411) an immature 
 bird shot at Udimore, in the latter part of 1844, and (p. 8335) 
 two others are recorded as seen together near Eastbourne : 
 one was shot, in an apple tree, at Birling Gap Farm, and the 
 other near Seaford, a few days afterwards, in September 
 1 863. At p. 8875 we read of a bird, which could have been 
 no other than a Honey Buzzard, shot on Halnaker Common, 
 
,^^^g^^^ 
 
 J. & Keulemaiis del. et hth- 
 
 THE HONEY BUZZARD. 
 
 Perras apivorus , 
 
 Mintcrn Eros . Chromo liilx. 
 
HONEY BUZZARD.— MAKSH-HAEEIEE. 21 
 
 near Goodwood, in November 1864, while enjoying the con- 
 tents of a wasp's nest ; and at p. 491, vol. for 1881, of a dark- 
 plumaged female, caught at Eobertsbridge, and of another 
 taken a few days before at Balcombe. This last was a male 
 which had been feeding on wild bees and their larvse, its 
 throat being full of them. Another was obtained near East 
 Grinstead ; when first seen it was apparently digging for a 
 wasp's nest, October 1881. This species varies more in its 
 plumage than any other of our Falconidce, sometimes being 
 of a uniform dark chocolate, approaching to black. There 
 is also a variety with a pale bluish-grey head, and the breast 
 much spotted, which has been called the " Capped Buzzard." 
 In this plumage it is very much like a large Cuckoo. 
 
 Mr. Potter, formerly a bird-stuffer residing at Lewes, in- 
 forms me that he once took from the stomach of one of 
 these birds a mass of hairy caterpillars of the Egger and 
 Drinker moths, which would have filled a half-pint mug. 
 
 MARSH-HAREIER. 
 
 Circus ceruginosus. 
 
 Of this species I have never myself met with a single speci- 
 men in Sussex, and it does not appear in my notes. Mr. 
 Knox considered it exceedingly rare. It appears to frequent 
 only wide expanses of open marshy country, and never to be 
 found in those that are wooded or hilly. Mr. Ellman re- 
 cords (Zoologist, p. 3] 13) that on the 20th of February an 
 immature specimen was shot at Haughton, and came into his 
 possession. Mr. Wilson (Zoologist, p. 3605), on the occur- 
 rence of rare birds near Worthing, merely states " Marsh- 
 Harrier, June 14th, 1854." Mr. Dutton, of Eastbourne 
 (p. 6266), states that Mr. Vidler, of that town, shot a speci- 
 
22 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 men of this bird^ in very fine plumage, on the 2nd of 
 Octoberj 1858. The crop was very much distended with the 
 remains of a bird, apparently a Moorhen. Mr. Vidler told 
 him that be had often seen the Marsh-Harrier in the marshes, 
 but had never before shot one. In the same journal, 1879 
 (p. 19), Mr. Jeflfery records his having seen a Marsh-Harrier 
 which had been shot at Sidlesham, a few days before, and 
 had been purchased by Mr. Fuller, of Chichester*. 
 
 The Marsh-Harrier feeds on any waterfowl or other birds 
 he can manage to capture, as well as on such small quadru- 
 peds as he may meet with, and is also very partial to fish. 
 
 HEN-HARRIER. 
 
 Circus cyaneus. 
 
 I SAW at Henfield a female which had been shot at Wynd- 
 ham, by Michael Harmes of that place, December 28th, 
 1850. On the 10th of March, 1854, I examined two speci- 
 mens which had been shot near Hailsham. They had 
 neither of them attained the most perfect mature male 
 plumage, one of them having a considerable patch of mottled 
 brown feathers on the back of the neck, and the breast in 
 front delicately spotted with rusty red, the rest being pure 
 white. A slight tinge of reddish brown also remained on 
 the points of the scapulars. The other had a very slight 
 portion of the mottled brown remaining on the nape of 
 the neck, the blue-grey of the upper and the pure white 
 of the under parts being particularly clear and beautiful. 
 
 * Mr. Jeffery, in his private note-book, which he has kindly lent 
 me, states that a female was killed at Sidlesham on the 23rd of May, 
 1861, and is in his collection. 
 
HEN-HARRIER. 23 
 
 In January 1856 I saw a male Hen-Harrier cross the 
 road close before me, as I was driving between Cowfold and 
 Henfield. This was apparently a fully mature bird. 
 
 The Hen-Harrier was formerly a regular summer visitor, 
 a few occasionally remaining through the winter, and that it 
 then bred in this county there can be no doubt ; but I can 
 find no certain evidence of its having done so of late years. 
 
 The female and the young male, up to its second year, are 
 similar in plumage, but so unlike the adult male that many 
 formerly supposed them to be a distinct species. Montagu, 
 however, set the matter at rest, and proved that the bird 
 generally known as the Ringtail is no other than the female 
 or young male of the Hen-Harrier. 
 
 Speaking of the boldness and rapacity of birds of prey 
 when pressed by hunger, Markwick, writing to Gilbert 
 White, in his edition of the ' Works in Natural History ' of 
 that observant Ornithologist, vol. ii. (pp. 183-183), says as 
 follows : — " When partridge-shooting with a friend, we saw 
 a ring-tail hawk rise out of a pit, with some large bird in its 
 claws ; though at a great distance we both fired and obliged 
 it to drop its prey, which proved to be one of the partridges 
 which we were in pursuit of ; and lastly, in an evening, I 
 shot at and plainly saw that I had wounded a partridge, but 
 it being late I was obliged to go home without finding it 
 again. Next morning I walked round my land without any 
 gun, but a favourite old spaniel followed my heels. When 
 I came near the field where I wounded the bird the evening 
 before, I heard the partridges call, and seeming to be much 
 disturbed. On my approaching the bar-way, they all rose, 
 some on my right and some on my left hand ; and just before 
 and over my head, I perceived (though indistinctly from the 
 extreme velocity of their motion) two birds fly directly 
 against each other, when instantly, to my great astonish- 
 ment, down dropped a partridge at my feet: the dog im- 
 
24 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 mediately seized itj and on examination I found the blood 
 flow very fast from a fresh wound in the head, but there was 
 some dry clotted blood on its wings and side; whence I con- 
 cluded that a hawk hiA singled out my wounded bird as the 
 object of his prey, and had struck it down the instant that 
 my approach had obliged the birds to rise on the wing; but 
 the space between the hedges was so small,- and the motion 
 of the birds so instantaneous and quick, that I could not 
 distinctly observe the operation." 
 
 Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 90) states that a female was taken in 
 a trap baited with a rabbit's scut, at OfFhara, in March 
 1842 ; that in September 1844, a male was shot near 
 Arundel, another in the same year at West Wittering 
 in December, a male and female at Wivelsfield, in June 
 1847, and that their nest was probably in the immediate 
 vicinity, as they were both mature, and had been seen together 
 for some time previously. He considered this bird to be 
 much rarer than Montagu's Harrier. 
 
 Mr. Dennis, in a letter to me, dated January 25, 1851, 
 says that he had sent a female Hen-Harrier to Mr. Swaysland, 
 of Brighton, to be p'-eserved, which had been taken near 
 Seaford shortly before. 
 
 In the ' Zoologist ' (!ccur the following notices :■ — 
 
 S.S. p. 141, by Mr. Jeffery, jun., of one having been shot 
 on the 14th of December, 1865, in a marsh adjoining Pag- 
 ham Harbour, which contained the remains of several birds, 
 and of' which the plumage was of a general rusty brown 
 colour. He also mentions, in p. 2059, a young male sliot at 
 Sidlesham, in December 1867. 
 
 In page 3112, Mr. EUman writes:— "An adult female 
 specimen of the Hen-Harrier was captured alive on the 
 Downs, near Alciston, in a singular manner last month , . . 
 A boy was walking over the Downs, when a terrier he had 
 with him saw the bird at a distance and ran after it. After 
 
HEN-HAERIER.— MONTAGU'S HARRIER. 25 
 
 running in circles round the bird the latter fell on the 
 ground upon its back^ and was immediately seized by the 
 hoy." 
 
 Mr. Wilson records a male in 1853, and a female in 1854, 
 both obtained near Worthing, in the autumn, p. 6605 ; and 
 Mr. Kent, in p. 8442, that one, in the Ringtail phimage, 
 was trapped in 'Ashburnham Park on January the 17tlij 
 1863. (See also p. 3343, S.S.) 
 
 Mr. Jeffery, in his private. note-booTs, mentions that one 
 of these birds was seen at Ratham, and another at Punting- 
 tbn in December 1872 ; and that in November 1880 he saw, 
 in the flesh, a male and female which had been shot near 
 Sidlesham, both adult. 
 
 MONTAGU'S HAKRIEE. 
 
 Circus cineraceus. 
 
 In September 1863 a very handsome specimen of this bird 
 was given to me by Mr. H. Padwick, of Horsham, who shot 
 it near Itchingfield. Being a very long shot, it was only 
 tipped on the wing, and very little injured. The plumage 
 being of a general chocolate colour on the upper parts, and 
 creamy yellow beneath, I believe it to be a bird of the first 
 year. Its claws were full of the flick of a rabbit. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that Markwick, writing of the blue- 
 grey Hawks, of which he says (Linn. Trans, vol. iv. pp. 12-13) 
 he had some years before shot two, evidently had before 
 him both species, without knowing it, or rather that he at 
 first concluded the male Hen-Harrier and the male Mon- 
 tagu's to be the two sexes of the same species. His bird 
 with the reddish oblong spots must have been a cock Mon- 
 tagu's Harrier ; while the other, having no spots on the breast. 
 
26 THE BIKDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 was a Heii-Harrierj for which he could hardly be blamed, 
 his paper having been read seven years before the matter 
 was cleared up by Montagu. 
 
 Mr. Knox says that this Harrier is more generally diffused 
 in Sussex than the Hen-Harrier, and this is still the case. 
 
 In the 'Zoologist' (pp. 2260-3361) we find the following 
 entry by Mr. Bates, of Eastbourne : — " I had brought to me 
 last Monday, the 20th of June, a most peculiar marked 
 specimen of Montagu's Harrier. It was a male bird, and 
 of a uniform black-blae colour. On dissection I found in 
 its crop six young skylarks, and in its stomach three more, 
 and five skylarks' eggs. Three were broken in two, and one 
 had a small hole in it, evidently made by the Harrier's beak . . . 
 The eggs were in the stomach, not in the crop." 
 
 In p. 3953, Mr. EUman notes that a female was shot near 
 Arundel, while in company with a male, in October, 1850 ; 
 and at p. 3329 that an immature specimen was taken near 
 Eastbourne, in the autumn. Mr. Dutton also states that a 
 female was trapped on the 15th of April, 1864, in Pevensey 
 Level, which had killed three young hares, and was caught 
 in a trap baited with one of them. In p. 2060 is a notice 
 by Mr. Jefifery of a Montagu's Harrier which he saw at 
 Chichester in August 1869, it having been killed shortly 
 before near Selsey. In November 1867, the late Mr. 
 Rowley had one which had been takea in a clap-net on the 
 Downs. This was a female; a male also got into the net, but 
 escaped; and in August 1870 the same bird-catcher captured 
 another female at the same place where he took the first, 
 also in a net, just outside of Brighton. 
 
 Mr. Jeffery, in a letter to me, dated October the 3rd, 1889, 
 informs me that he obtained one from Sidlesham, May 27, 
 1862. I was told that a boy one day in the summer of 1888 
 brought an old female Montagu's Harrier and some broken 
 egg-shells to the late Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton, and said that 
 
MONTAGU'S HARRIER.— TAWNY OWL. 27 
 
 he saw it on its nest among the furzes on the Downs above 
 FalmeTj and that he threw himself upon it with such force 
 that he killed the bird and broke the eggs. I did not hear 
 how many, there were. I may here remark that it is a 
 common habit of poachers^ at least in Sussex, to catch hares 
 and rabbits by throwing themselves upon them in their seats 
 or forms. 
 
 Mr. Booth remarks that about twenty-five years ago he 
 procured eggs, which must have belonged to this species, 
 from an extensive stretch of furze, known in the district as 
 "The Horthy Field." This was near Catsfield, in the east 
 of Sussex. In this parish was Catsfield House, the residence 
 of the celebrated Markwick. 
 
 STRIGID-ffil. 
 
 TAWNY OWL. 
 
 StriiC aluco. 
 
 In Sussex this species, which is generally known by the 
 name of the Wood-Owl, though not so abundant as formerly, 
 is still to be found in the large oak woods, and in most of 
 the parks where there are old trees of any size. I can of 
 my own knowledge mention the following in the west : — 
 Cowdray, Petworth, Burton, Knepp, West Grinstead, and 
 Up Park ; and in the east Stanmer, Fletching, Firle, and 
 Ashburnham. Being lately at a birdstuffer's shop in 
 Horsham, I saw no fewer than seven specimens of all ages, 
 and was told that the bird is by no means scarce in that 
 neighbourhood, which abounds with old elms, full of hollows 
 in their trunks and branches, where they find most suitable 
 
28 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 places for their concealment throughout the year and for 
 bringing up their young at the proper season. Though not , 
 so common as the Barn-Owlj it may be met with on the 
 whole range of St. Leonards Forest, principally frequenting 
 the ancient beech trees. 
 
 In March 1864 a pair of these birds were constantly heard 
 in the evening about the trees in my own grounds at Cow- 
 fold ; and as I had never heard them beforCj I suppose they 
 must have been attracted by one which a neighbour had in 
 confinement near his house adjoining my premises. They 
 were very vociferouSj and were called and answered by 
 the tame bird, which had been taken in St. Leonards 
 Forest. The note of the Owl in the cage was very difi'erent 
 from that of its visitors, and its proprietor told me that he 
 had never heard it utter the same note but on these occasions. 
 This bird was quite an object of interest in the village, and 
 the owner informed me that it was as good as a watchdog to 
 him, as it made a great disturbance if any one was about 
 the premises at night, and that he, being a medical man, had 
 often been thus apprised of some patient requiring his 
 services. The utilization of the Owl might therefore be 
 advantageous to those who object to paying their dog tax; 
 it might also be useful as a warning of a meditated attack 
 by burglars, as was the goose to the defenders of the old 
 Roman capitol. The Tawny Owl is said occasionally to 
 catch and eat fish, and to supply them to its young, but its 
 principal food is rats and mice, and although it no doubt 
 also helps itself pretty liberally to young rabbits and leverets, 
 the good it does far outweighs its depredations among the 
 game. I once found in the hole of a beech tree, in which 
 were three young Owls, two brown rats and three water- 
 rats, and a very small rabbit. Mr. Jefl'ery states, in his 
 private notes, that this bird has bred every year in a hollow 
 tree near the Downs from 1859 to 1887. 
 
LONG-EARED OWL. 29 
 
 LONG-EAEED OWL. 
 
 Asio otus. 
 
 I CAN say little from my own observation respecting this 
 species. It is dispersed, in moderate numbers, throughout 
 this county, especially in places where there are old Scotch 
 firs, or thick plantations of younger trees of either these 
 or spruce. 
 
 I remember once seeing three young birds, nearly ready 
 to fly, sitting in a line, on the flat branch of a spruce, in a 
 small wood at Blackstone, near Henfield. As these could 
 never have flown from one tree to another, I have little doubt 
 that there was a nest in the same tree, but it was surrounded 
 by an impenetrable mass of brambles and blackthorn, and 
 too thick to see through. 
 
 Mr. Gould, in his 'Birds of Great Britain,^ after speaking 
 of the number of pellets ejected by this Owl, which he had 
 examined, makes this remark: — "But I am bound to men- 
 tion that never in a single instance have I discovered a trace 
 of any game bird, and I feel assured that the keepers, who 
 wage war against the Long-eared Owl for the protection of 
 their young pheasants or partridges, are not only giving 
 themselves unnecessary trouble, but are also guilty of the 
 folly of exterminating their best friends, for the number of 
 rats destroyed by this species is enormous, and I look upon 
 the rat as the game-preserver's worst enemy .^' 
 
 I have seen specimens from Parham Park, and I was told 
 by a gamekeeper that they had bred there for several years 
 in succession, in the tops of the lofty old Scotch firs. I have 
 seen other examples from various parts of the county, and 
 have in my own collection one shot at Henfield, in July 
 
30 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 1843 ; and another from Stanmer Park, obtained in the 
 same year. 
 
 Mr. JefFery, in his private notes, mentions that on the 4th 
 of March, 1860, he saw ten or twelve of these birds in a 
 yew tree at Kingley Vale, and records in the ' Zoologist,' for 
 1881 (p. 49), that on the 10th of December, ' 1880, a great 
 many had been brought to a birdstuffer at Chichester. 
 In Mr. Gordon's ' History of H arting ' it is mentioned 
 that the eggs of this species were found in the deserted nest 
 of a crow on West Harting Down {vide p. 353). 
 
 SHOKT-EAEED OWL. 
 
 Asio acci^itrinus. 
 
 I HAVE in my collection three specimens, all shSt by myself, 
 viz., one on Henfield Common, October 13th, 1839; another 
 at Hough Wood in September 1841 ; and a third at Rye 
 Farm, Henfield, while flying close to the ground. Together 
 with this bird I also shot a hare in its form (or seat, as it is 
 more usually called by Sussex farmers and sportsmen), just 
 beyond it : this was in October 1841. I have often met with 
 this bird in the turnip fields and in the stubbles, which were 
 formerly left in Sussex, sometimes even to rot on the 
 ground, but which now, unfortunately for the parti'idge- 
 shooters, may be called non-existent, all corn being cut close 
 to the ground from the first. I once, but only once in this 
 county, put up about forty, from a turnip field, though I have 
 several times in Cambridgeshire seen similar numbers to- 
 gether, probably whole fiights on their immigration. 
 
 In 1841, I saw a Short-eared Owl, shot near Henfield on 
 the 16th of September, by Mr. A. Smith, which contained 
 the remains of two Skylarks and a short-tailed field vole. 
 
SHORT-EARED OWL.— EAGLE-OWL. 31 
 
 all three of which it had no doubt captured on the ground. 
 I think this species is entirely terrestrial, as I have never 
 seen, or heard of, its settling in trees. It nests also on the 
 ground, but I have never known it to breed in Sussex. I 
 have once only found a nest of this species myself, and as 
 it was not in Sussex, I should not have alluded to it had it 
 not been for the marvellous ferocity of its owner. Were it 
 sitting hard I could have excused it, but, as it had only one 
 egg, I considered its assault upon me perfectly unjustifiable. 
 The nest was in a rabbit-burrow, and I saw the bird fly out. 
 I was kneeling down, when it deliberately knocked my cap 
 oflF ; I took the one egg, which is still in my collection ; the 
 bird made repeated attacks on me, and though I could easily 
 have killed it with my stick, not wishing to do so, I was by 
 ■no means sorry when I found inyself out of its way. This 
 was in Quy Fen, near Cambridge, in 1838 or thereabouts. 
 
 In this county the Short-eared Owl is a regular autumnal 
 immigrant, never being found in the summer ; its appearance 
 about the same time as the Woodcock (seldom before the 
 first of October) has given to this bird the name of the 
 "Woodcock Owl." 
 
 EAGLE-OWL. 
 
 Bubo ignavus. 
 
 The earliest notice of the occurrence of this bird in Sussex 
 appears to be that of Latham, who, writing in 1787, observes 
 (G-en. Syn. of Birds, Supplement, p. 40) that this Owl is 
 " now and then seen with us, one being shot by the game- 
 keeper of the Rev. Mr. Hare, at Hurstmonceux, in the year 
 1784 ; " and from him Montagu, so far as Sussex is con- 
 cerned, probably got his information when he says in his 
 
32 THE BIEDS OP SUSSEX. 
 
 ' Ornithological Dictionary ' :—" It has been shot in York- 
 shire, and in Sussex, as well as in Scotland." 
 
 The muscles of the thigh are stronger in this species, in 
 proportion to its size, than those of the same part of any 
 other bird I have ever examined. I can find no further 
 record of the appearance of the Eagle-Owl in Sussex; and it 
 is not mentioned by Mark wick*. 
 
 SCOPS-OWL. 
 
 Scops giu. 
 
 The oiily notice I can find of this little Owl having been 
 obtained in Sussex is that given by Mr. Knox, who says (O. R. 
 p. 9495) : — " Of the occurrence of that rare visitor the Scops- 
 eared Owl, I can record only one instance in S-ussex. It was 
 shot some years ago at Shillinglee, the seat of the Earl of 
 Winterton, and was subsequently in the possession of a 
 member of the family." 
 
 Now, Mr. Knox's own collection is at the present time at 
 Goodwood, and in it there is a specimen of the Scops-Owl ; 
 and in the MS. Catalogue it is thus referred to, in the hand- 
 writing of Mr. Knox : — " This bird is supposed to have been 
 shot near Plaistovr, as reported by the late Mr. Kidd (A. D. 
 1838), but I have no other authority for its being a Sussex 
 specimen." For this information I am indebted to Mr. F. 
 D. Godman, who very kindly obtained it for me through 
 Lord Walter Gordon Lennox. Now, as Plaistow is very near 
 to Shillinglee, there is a strong probability that this is the 
 specimen to which Mr. Knox refers in his O. R. 
 
 * For the Owls in Arundel Castle, see Introduction. 
 
LITTLE OWL. 33 
 
 LITTLE OWL. 
 
 Carine noctua. 
 
 I HAVE an immature specimen in my possession, which I first 
 saw in the flesh at a poulterer's in Brighton Market, in July 
 1843. He told me that it was shot by a boy at Sheflield Park, 
 Fletching. I went over there and saw the said boy, who told 
 me that he was lying down in an orchard, having been em- 
 ployed to keep birds off the corn, when he saw the Owl in an 
 apple-tree. He had a gun and powder, but no shot. He 
 said the bird kept making faces at him, and he couldn't 
 stand that, and so, having some tin tacks in his pocket, he 
 loaded his gun with them, and shot it. He gave it to his 
 father, who, instead of taking it to his missus to make a 
 pudding, as a Sussex man would be very likely to do, sent it 
 by carrier to Brighton Market. 
 
 .1 have another example which was taken on the evening 
 of March 27th, 1871, by a man who saw it fly into a rabbit's 
 burrow in Holmbush Park, near Horsham. He dug the bird 
 out and sold it to a birdstuffer in the town, who killed and 
 mounted it. The sex was unfortunately not ascertained. 
 I recorded this capture in the ' Zoologist ■" (p. 5988), and 
 that notice is also mentioned in Yarrell's ' British Birds ' 
 (ed. 4, p. 155), but unfortunately I recorded it as Tengmalm's 
 Owl, an error which I much regret, and take this opportunity 
 of correcting. Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, showed me on March 
 16th, 1877, a Little Owl, which is recorded in the ' Zoolo- 
 gist ' (p. 338) as obtained at Shoreham, shot in an orchard 
 close to the town. This came into my possession, and also 
 another, caught alive in an outbuilding near Newtimber, in 
 April of the same year, 
 
 I was told by Sir "Walter Burrell, Bart., that, finding them 
 
84 THE BIRDS OE- SUSSEX. 
 
 troublesome to feed, he had turned out two of these birds a 
 few months previously at Knepp Castle, and as Knepp is 
 only about ten miles from either of the above places, I have 
 a strong suspicion that ttese were the birds which he had 
 liberated. 
 
 BARN OWL. 
 
 Aluco fiammeus. 
 
 This is the commonest species, and well known by the name 
 of Screech-Owl. Formerly it was particularly abundant, 
 and bred in the old stone-roofed houses, churches, and barns 
 in this neighbourhood ; but, though it is the best friend of 
 the farmer, and does little, if any, harm to game, it is much 
 persecuted, and like the Long- and Short-iared Owls, is 
 sought for for making fire-screens. 
 
 It is also destroyed on account of its disturbing the rest 
 of the lodgers who are now occupying our farm-houses in the 
 summer months, and one of the consequences of this destruc- 
 tion is that the vermin of all sorts is increasing in every 
 direction. 
 
 Mr. Waterton, and other authors, have stated that this 
 bird feeds on fish, and I was once watching one of them 
 perched on a branch of an oak, overhanging a pond on my 
 own premises, when it suddenly dropped from a height of 
 some eight feet, and carried off a carp in its claws. 
 
 The late Mr. Dawson Rowley, Orn. Misc. vol. i. pp. 62-3, 
 has the following ; — 
 
 " The beautiful variety in my collection, which has been 
 well drawn by Mr. Keulemans, was captured alive in a pigeon- 
 house near Brighton; there were two, but the other escaped. 
 . . . Mr. Henry Stevenson, in his ' Birds of Norfolk,' vol. i. 
 
BARN OWL. 35 
 
 p. 53, gives an instance of a similar specimen killed near 
 
 Norwich, December 13th, 1864 He adds it is rather 
 
 rare in all parts of Denmark. . . These Danish birds, as thejr 
 are called^ have, I suspect, come across from the continent. 
 . . . Mr. Hancock states, in his ' Birds of Northumberland ' 
 (p. 31), that an example was shot in his district a few years 
 ago.'' Subsequently (p. 370), in a paper by Mr. R. Bowdler 
 Sharpe, there may be found : — " There are therefore three 
 occurrences of the Danish Barn-Owl in England, all of them 
 having taken place on the eastern and south-eastern coasts. 
 . . . But announcements of Danish Barn-Owls in England 
 must be received with extreme caution, as our own species 
 has a natural dark phase, which scarcely differs from the 
 ordinary bird of the continent of Europe, and I believe that 
 a thorough examination of the Barn-Owls of all countries 
 would show that in every district [here he excepts a few 
 localities afterwards mentioned] both phases are found in 
 equal proportions. I must observe at least, that several 
 examples^ killed in England recently, and brought to me as 
 Danish Barn-Owls, have not been so really, but have turned 
 out to be the dark phase of our resident bird." 
 
 There is the following footnote (p. 370) : — " Another, 
 probably a male, was taken alive, in the same dovecote Feb, 
 3nd, 1876.— G. D. R." 
 
 d3 
 
THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 FASSERES. 
 
 LANIIDiS. 
 
 GEEAT GEEY SHRIKE. 
 
 Lanius ewcubitor. 
 
 This bird is generally a winter visitant, though it occa- 
 sionally occurs in spring. It feeds on mice and small birds, 
 large insects, especially humble-bees, frogs, and lizards. It 
 has a curious habit of impaling its food on a sharp thorn in 
 order to tear it to pieces more readily, and it has been sug- 
 gested that, owing to the weakness of its legs, it cannot other- 
 wise hold the prey with sufficient tenacity ; these collections 
 of hung-up food have no doubt originated the name of 
 "Butcher-Bird." 
 
 The nest has never been found in Sussex, and the bird is 
 by no means common, but it appears every year in many 
 parts of the county. 
 
 In December 1839, a little before Christmas, two were shot 
 near Bramber Castle, one ten days after the other. This 
 latter, being wounded, bit the hand of the man who shot it 
 very severely. Both are in my possession ; there appears to 
 be no difference in the plumage of the two, each having the 
 semilunar markings on the breast. 
 
 I have a note of one shot near Lancing on November 
 13th, 1845 J and there is another in my collection, killed at 
 Aldrington in October 1846. 
 
GREAT GREY SHRIKE. 37 
 
 Several of these birds were seen about a hedge at South- 
 wick J and one of them was shot on the first day of its ap- 
 pearance, and another the next. I saw them both soon 
 afterwards, about October 1846. 
 
 I also knew of one taken in a clap-net, in a brickfield near 
 Horsham, having pounced on a G-oldfinch, which was used 
 as a call-bird, in January 1850. It was an old male, in 
 beautiful plumage ; and in February 1852, two were shot 
 near Pevensey by Mr. Vidler. 
 
 In December of the next year I had the pleasure of seeing 
 one myself in this neighbourhood, and of watching it for 
 some minutes as it sat on the top of an oak tree, moving its 
 tail up and down with great rapidity. It was pointed out to 
 me by a labourer, who had seen it on a lawn about half a 
 mile from Cowfold. It very soon darted into a thicket and 
 disappeared. At this time there was a severe frost. On the 
 15th of February, 1853, another was shot at Shipley. 
 
 Some years after this, in March 1881, happening to be at 
 Eastbourne, I saw one of these Shrikes come in from the 
 sea, and remarked its very undulating fiight, like that of a 
 Woodpecker. In Mr. Jeffery's private notes, he records one 
 killed at Jevington on 19th November, 1861. 
 
 The ' Zoologist ' records : — One taken near Lewes in a 
 clap-net while attacking a call-bird, February 3rd, 1849 
 (p. 2452) ; another at Worthing, in 1859 (p. 6606) ; a third 
 at Pevensey, in 1866 (p. 9655) ; and a fourth at Sidlesham, 
 in 1868 (p. 2059, s. s.), as well as a female shot near Brighton, 
 mentioned in the vol. for 1880 (p. 147) . 
 
38 fHE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 EED-BACKED SHRIKE. 
 
 Lanius collurio. 
 
 Unlikb the preceding, this bird makes its appearance with 
 great regularity about the middle of April, and is, in fact, a 
 summer immigrant. Although decidedly local, it cannot be 
 called uncommon. 
 
 It may be seen occasionally between the South Downs and 
 the sea, but the north side of that range, throughout its 
 whole length, may, I think, be considered its favourite haunt. 
 Nevertheless it is fairly distributed throughout the inland 
 parts of the county, especially in the more open districts of 
 the Weald. 
 
 The habit of these birds of stationing thesaselves on the 
 extreme point of the highest portion of a tree or bush renders 
 them very conspicuous. Any person travelling along the 
 roads may, year after year, at some particular spot, or within 
 a few yards of it, observe a single male or female perched in 
 this position, probably on the lookout for any passing insect, 
 or on duty as sentinel. 
 
 Its habits and food are very similar to those of the Great 
 Grey Shrike. In my younger days, when high hedges were 
 far more common than they are now, I have often found 
 in them the nest of the Eed-backed Shrike. Owing to 
 modem ideas of agriculture, birds in general are losing such 
 places of security, and many are driven to build their nests 
 in situations liable to discovery, and to their consequent 
 destruction. 
 
 I may observe in conclusion, that the eggs of this bird in 
 one nest, often differ so remarkably from those in another, 
 that they might easily be supposed to represent the product 
 
WOODCHAT SHRIKE.— SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. 39 
 
 of at least three diflPerent species, though those in the same 
 nest are always similar. Several gamekeepers have told me 
 that they have shot this bird in the act of drawing out young 
 partridges and young pheasants from the coops. 
 
 WOODCHAT SHRIKE. 
 
 Lanius auriculatus. 
 
 This species is exceedingly rare in Sussex, and indeed in 
 Britain. 
 
 I have met with only one specimen myself, of which I 
 find the following note :—" On the 11th of May, 1866, 1 saw, 
 at Mr. Pratt's shop in Brighton, a beautiful specimen of 
 Lanius auriculatus in the flesh, which he told me had been 
 shot at Preston, near that town, on that same morning, by 
 one of his sons. It was in the fullest plumage of the adult 
 male. The stomach contained portions of beetles and other 
 insects. This is no doubt the specimen which is mentioned 
 in Yarrell's 'British Birds' (vol. i. p. 216), as also in the 
 'Zoologist' (p. 266, s. s.). This species is not included by 
 Mr. Knox in his list." 
 
 MUSCICAPID^. 
 
 SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. 
 
 Muscicapa grisola. 
 
 This bird generally arrives in the county about the 4th of 
 May, and very commonly returns year after year to an 
 
40 THE BIEDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 accustomed spot, building a nest, or repairing an old one, on 
 the branch of a vine, or some other fruit-tree, trained against 
 a wall, generally taking great pains to conceal it from a 
 passer-by, though it is very often a pretty large mass. At 
 other times it -will place its nest against the upright stem of 
 an oak, or other rough-barked or lichen- covered tree, and in 
 that case it is usually very small, and so neatly woven into 
 its surroundings that it is very difficult to- discover. It is, 
 as a rule, composed of moss and lichen externally, perhaps 
 mixed with a few roots and feathers, and is lined with horse- 
 hair and other soft material. 
 
 In one instance, a nest was found on the moulded architrave 
 of a window of my own house, entirely composed, externally, 
 of the blossoms of the Turkey oak, and lined with a few 
 horsehairs, feathers, and red worsted. I have twice found 
 the eggs of this species plain light blue, without any markings 
 at all. It is fond of sitting on a rail, or the point of a 
 branch, whence it pursues its insect prey, returning con- 
 stantly to the same spot. 
 
 I have known it to select the top of a beehive, and to make 
 a raid every few minutes on the bees, as they were returning 
 with their honey. It leaves this country for the winter about 
 the middle of September. 
 
 It does not appear to possess any song, and is the most 
 silent of all our small birds. 
 
 Mr. Jeffery, in his private notes, states that this species 
 uses spiders' webs freely for its nest, collecting them from 
 the corners and crevices of buildings while hovering on the 
 wing. 
 
PIED FLYCATCHER. 41 
 
 PIED FLYCATCHEK. 
 
 Mmdcapa atricapilla. 
 
 A KARE visitor to the southern counties. Two specimens 
 were obtained at Lancing, on May 1 7thj 1873, and about the 
 same time another, a male, was picked up dead at Sunt, near 
 Lindfield. I examined all of these. 
 
 On April 10th, 1853, my notice was attracted by the ex- 
 treme whiteness of the breast of a bird high up in an oak 
 tree, in my own grounds at Cowfold, and not knowing what 
 it was, I shot it. It proved to be an adult male of this 
 species, and is now in my own collection. Mr. Knox men- 
 tions one killed in 1837 at Halnaker, and another at Mouls- 
 combe, near Brighton. Mr. A. P. Griffith, of that town, 
 informs me that he saw a Pied Flycatcher near the Hassocks 
 Station of L.B.S.C. railway in May 1888. 
 
 The following notices of the Pied Flycatcher in Sussex 
 appear in the 'Zoologist^ : — (p. 3174) a male shot at Firle 
 Place, in May 1851 ; (p. 6605) eight occurrences near 
 Worthing, between the spring of 1853 and that of 1858 ; 
 (p. 497, s. s.) a female shot at Uckfield in 1866 ; and 
 (p. 4691, s. s.) one is mentioned which flew into an open 
 window of the Grand Hotel, Brighton, in October 1875, and 
 was preserved by Mr. Swaysland. 
 
 In addition to these, Mr. Jeffery records two seen in the 
 neighbourhood of Chichester, in May 1881 (p. 49, vol. for 
 that year) . 
 
 Its note is a low warble commencing zic, zic, zic. 
 
42 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 OEIOLID^. 
 
 GOLDEN ORIOLE. 
 
 Oriolus galhula. 
 
 This species can only be considered a very irregular visitant. 
 The greater number have occurred in spring. 
 
 In my own collection I have two males which were shot 
 at Charleston, near Alfriston, in May 1833 ; and in the same 
 month of 1 853 I saw a male which had been shot at Erring- 
 ham, near Shoreham. A few days afterwards another was 
 seen in the grounds of Lady Lloyd, at Lancing, in the same 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 In this same year, 1853, I was told by Mr. Dennis of 
 another example which had been shot by Mr. K&g, of East 
 Blatchington, on the 14th of June. It happened in this way ; 
 he had taken his gun to shoot some Starlings which had 
 annoyed him by building their nests on each side of his front 
 door, making a great mess, and while he was looking out for 
 them, a bird flew into an elm tree opposite, which he shot, 
 and finding it was not a Starling, sent it to Mr. Dennis. It 
 proved to be a female Golden Oriole, and shortly afterwards 
 I saw it at Mr. Swaysland^s. 
 
 In May 1866 two male specimens were shown me by Mr. 
 Pratt, of Brighton, which he had just received in the flesh 
 from Lewes ; and in the same month a male and female were 
 shot, by one of his sons, on the lawn of Preston Place, near 
 Brighton, which I also saw ; these latter were bought by the 
 late Bishop Wilberforce. 
 
 Mr. Whitaker, of West Grinstead Park, possesses a young 
 male specimen, which he told me was shot at Dial Post, in 
 that parish, by one of his keepers, on the 28th of June, 1888. 
 
GOLDEN ORIOLE.— DIPPER. 43 
 
 Many years ago, I have unfortunately lost the date, I had 
 the rare pleasure of seeing no fewer than fourteen of these 
 beautiful birds sunning themselves on an old thorn-bush on 
 Henfield Common, and got within some forty or fifty yards of 
 them. I have never heard of any other instance of so large 
 a number having been seen together. A pair of this species 
 frequented for some time a garden at Fittleworth, and would, 
 no doubt, have bred there, but they were unfortunately 
 shot, although every effort was made to keep them from being 
 disturbed. 
 
 In the ' Zoologist •" it is recorded (p. 268, s. s.) that a male 
 Golden Oriole was picked up dead, at East Grinstead, in May 
 1866 ; and at p. 334, s. s., is another note on Sussex spe- 
 cimens. 
 
 CINCLID^. 
 
 DIPPER. 
 
 Cinclus aquaticus. 
 
 The Dipper, or Water Ouzel, has very rarely been met 
 with in Sussex. In a list of birds compiled by Mr. Thos. 
 Woolgar, who died in 1831, printed in Horsfield's ' History 
 of Lewes' (Appendix, p. 18, vol. i.), one is stated to have 
 been shot at the mouth of the Ouse near Newhaven. A 
 second is recorded by Mr. J. H. Gurney, 'Zoologist' 
 (p. 2848, s,s.), which he saw at Mr. Gasson's, the naturalist, 
 atllye; it had the usual chestnut band on the lower part 
 of the breast ; and another is mentioned in the same journal 
 for 1884 (p. 4!^1) by Mr. Thos. Parkin, of the. Vicarage, 
 Halton, Hastings, as shot on the "Salts" at Bopeep, St. 
 Leonards-ou-Sea, on September I3th of that year. .. 
 
44 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 TTJRDID^. 
 
 MISTLETOE THRUSH. 
 
 Turdus viscivorus. 
 
 This species, though not so abundant as some of its con- 
 geners, is generally diffused throughout the county, frequent- 
 ing the small copses and open pastures where there are high 
 trees. 
 
 It is generally known here as the " Screech ;" and, from 
 its habit of persistently singing from the top of some lofty 
 tree, during a heavy storm of wind and rain, it is also fre- 
 quently called the Storm Cock, also the Holm Thrush, from 
 its partiality to the holly or Ao/m-bush, for the sake of its 
 berries. Although it may be considered a very wild bird at 
 all other seasons, yet in the spring time it becomes exceed- 
 ingly bold, and enters our gardens and orchards, where it 
 builds its nest in the most conspicuous places, and in its 
 defence will fearlessly attack, and generally drive ofE, every 
 bird, of whatever size, which may presume to approach it. 
 Then, after it and its family have enjoyed the fruit, particu- 
 larly cherries, and the protection of our gardens, the little 
 party betake themselves to the open country, and even to 
 the bare downs, till, on the approach of winter and hard 
 weather, they assemble in flocks, and resort to the berry- 
 bearing trees, more particularly to the holly, the mountain 
 ash, and the haw, oq which fare they become exceedingly 
 plump, and, being by no means bad. for the table, are much 
 persecuted by juvenile gunners. 
 
 This species receives large accessions from the continent 
 in the autumn. I may add that Gilbert White says, "The 
 Magpies, when they have young, destroy the broods of 
 
MISTLETOE THRUSH.— SONG THRUSH. 45 
 
 Missel Thrushes, though the dams are fierce birds, and fight 
 boldly in defence of their nests. It is probably to avoid 
 such insults that this species of Thrush, though wild at other 
 times, delights to build near houses, and in frequented walks 
 and gardens" (see 'Natural History of Selborne,' edit, of 
 1803, vol. ii. p. 165). On the 14th of February, 1859, my 
 gardener, hearing a great clamour of birds on the other side 
 of a wall from where he was working, went to see what was 
 the matter, when he saw a Missel Thrush take its departure 
 from a Hawfinch, which he picked up in an insensible state. 
 As it got better, I put it in a cage, where it soon got appa- 
 rently all right, and cracked some hawthorn-stones ; but a 
 few hours after was dead. 
 
 SONG THRUSH. 
 
 Turdus musicus. 
 
 Extremely common everywhere, frequenting our gardens 
 and shrubberies, and when the time comes taking heavy toll 
 from fruits of all kinds. In return, however, for these de- 
 predations it repays us with its charming melody throughout 
 the year, though more especially in the spring. It destroys, 
 too, an enormous quantity of earthworms and snails, bringing 
 the latter to some favourite stone to break, where numbers 
 of the shells may frequently be found, aud returning again 
 and again to this selected spot. 
 
 This species is resident, receiving large additions from the 
 North, of natives, and from the East, of arrivals from the 
 continent in summer and autumn. It seems to be one of 
 the earliest resident birds to be affected by the cold, and is 
 frequently found dead on a sudden accession of frost, though, 
 as a rule, it retires to the coast, where it finds an abundant 
 
46 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 supply of food, and roosts among the tangled herbage of the 
 mud-banks, which are covered by the highest tides only. 
 The Sussex name for the Song-Thrush is GreyUrd. 
 
 EEDWING. 
 
 Turdus iliacus. 
 
 A KEGULAH winter visitant, although occasionally a few 
 remain as late as April, which has led some to suppose that 
 it has bred in this county. 
 
 It generally arrives in October, when it resorts to the 
 grass land and enclosures, feeding on worms, &c., and not 
 taking so much to berries as the other species of the genus. 
 
 This bird does not seem to be forewarned by its instinct 
 of the approach of severe frost, so that I h^ve often seen 
 numbers so overcome by the cold as scarcely to be able to 
 escape the prong, or shovel of the labourei", spreading the 
 dressing in the meadow. 
 
 It is said to roost on the ground, in pastures overgrown 
 with grass or rushes. 
 
 I have often seen little parties of this species in the 
 enclosures in Brighton, and particularly in the Pavilion 
 Gardens, where, in March 1889, several were walking about 
 within a few yards of my feet. 
 
 FIELDFARE. 
 
 Turdus pilaris. 
 
 This species, like the last, is a regular winter visitor, 
 but occasionally appears as early as the second .week in 
 
FIELDFARE-— BLACK-THROATED THRUSH. 47 
 
 September. It arrives in some years in very large flocks, 
 and betakes itself to the open country, and particularly 
 to meadows. 
 
 Its habits in general do not differ much from those of the 
 Redwing, but it is rather a wilder and hardier bird, and does 
 not scatter in so small parties over the country, and, when 
 disturbed by gunners, soon becomes very wary and diflScult 
 of approach. The Fieldfare does not breed in this country. 
 It has generally left us by the end of April, though I have 
 once or twice seen one or two as late as May. 
 
 The call-note is very harsh, but it is said to have an agree- 
 able song. This bird breads in large societies. The Sussex 
 name for it is " Felt," or " Pigeon Felt," I imagine from the 
 blueness of its plumage, not from its size, for it is certainly 
 not larger than the Mistletoe Thrush. The berries of the 
 holly, the juniper, the mountain-ash, and the hawthorn, 
 as well as worms, &c., collected in the meadows, form its 
 principal food. 
 
 BLACK-THKOATED THRUSH. 
 
 Turdus atrogularis. 
 
 As the only British specimen I have ever seen is that men- 
 tioned in Yarrell^s ' British Birds,^ 4th edit. vol. i. p. 276, 
 I will merely quote therefrom : — " Of this species a young 
 male example, shot near Lewes, December 33rd, 1868, was, on 
 the same day, taken to Mr. T. J. Monk, of that town, and 
 now forms part of his choice collection. Mr. Gould recorded 
 the capture in ' The Ibis ' for January 1869 (p. 128) , and a 
 note to the same purpose, from the owner of the specimen, 
 is printed in the 'Zoologist' for February (1888, p. 1560), 
 while the latter permitted Mr. Rowley, who himself saw the 
 
THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 bird before it was skinned, to exhibit it at a meeting of the 
 Zoological Society, on the 14th of January (Proc. Zool. Soc. 
 1869, p. 4)." 
 
 BLACKBIRD. 
 
 Turdus merula. 
 
 The Blackbird is the most common of the Thrush family, 
 abounding on our lawns and in our shrubberies, among 
 which it is one of the earliest to build its nest, and where it 
 frequently brings up several broods in a season. It feeds 
 greatly on various fruits, and devours large quantities of 
 worms and snails. After the breeding-season, it resorts a 
 good deal to the copses, and narrow strips of underwood and 
 timber, which so commonly divide the fields in the Weald of 
 Sussex, and are known as " Shaws." 
 
 But, although it is the hardiest of all our Thrushes, it 
 betakes itself to the sea-shore on the approach of very severe 
 frost, returning again to its inland haunts as soon as the 
 weather moderates. It does not associate in large flocks, 
 but is said to receive, in the autumn, considerable additions 
 from other parts. 
 
 RING OUSEL. 
 
 Turdus torquatus. 
 
 The first notices I have of the Ring Ousel in Sussex are, 
 that a male was shot at Chestham, Henfield, in September 
 1839, and a female caught at Portslade, in Mr. J. Borrer'a 
 greenhouse j it seems to be very fond of grapes. On the 
 
RING OUSEL, 49 
 
 Slst of October, 1840, I saw one which had been shot at 
 Brighton a few days previously, and on the 31st of September 
 of the following year, one shot at Westmeston. I also know 
 of one, obtained near Lewes, as early as the 6th of April, 
 and another occurred near Brighton in October 1843, and 
 several more in the same month of the next year. On the 
 18th of September, 1853, I was walking up to the Rectory 
 at Petworth, and my attention being attracted by their 
 harsh note, I saw several Ring Ousels flying from a moun- 
 tain-ash in the garden, and afterwards had a good view of 
 them from a window, feeding on the berries. On the South 
 Downs these birds still continue their migrations, as they 
 did in the time of Gilbert White. 
 
 Mr. Knox merely observes that it is a passing visitor in 
 spring and autumn, resting for a few days among the 
 junipers and holly-bushes on our elevated commons and 
 highest downs. 
 
 Mr. Booth, in his ' Rough Notes,' writes as follows : — " I 
 possess the best evidence that a pair reared their young in 
 the spring of 1865, in the lower branches of a stunted thorn- 
 bush in a sloping hollow of the South Downs near Thunder's 
 Barrow, between Portslade and the Dyke Hill, the juveniles 
 being seen near the same spot, attended by the old birds, a 
 week or so after they were observed in the nest. My in- 
 formant also stated that the previous year a shepherd had 
 told him that a bird, resembling a Blackbird with a white 
 ring round the throat, had taken up its quarters in a ruined 
 hovel in one of the valleys among the hills near Hangleton, 
 the nest having been placed on the wall-plate in the space 
 left where one of the rafters had fallen away. Though this 
 Ousel is generally well known in this part of Sussex, a few 
 being seen annually in spring while on the passage towards 
 the north, arid numbers frequenting the hills about Palmer, 
 -Patcham, and Portslade, during the latter end of autumn, 
 
 E 
 
so THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 I fail to learn of other instances of this species remaining 
 during summer in the county/' 
 
 I cannot say that this story of Mr. Booth's is perfectly 
 satisfactory, but I leave it to my readers to take it for what 
 it is worth. The Ring Ousel feeds on various herries^ 
 especially on those of mountain-ash, the yew, and the haw- 
 thorn, as well as on worms and snails. 
 
 Mr. Ellman records, in the ' Zoologist ' for 1850 (p. 2698) : 
 " The number of Ring Ousels passing southward during this 
 autumn has been astonishing. Large flocks were seen con- 
 tinually on the Downs from September till nearly the end of 
 October. No one can ever recollect their being so plentiful 
 before." And Mr. W. Jeffery, writing from Ratham, near 
 Chichester, under date 12th to 20th of April, 1866, states, 
 with reference to the same bird, "a few . . . have been 
 obtained during the migration; as a rule, they are not 
 nearly so numerous nor so frequently met wiUh here at this 
 time of the year as in the autumn " {' Zoologist,' p. 266, s.s.). 
 
 Mr. Jeflfery also states, in his private notes, that he has 
 met with considerable numbers in Kingly Vale, near 
 Chichester. 
 
 SYLVIID^. 
 
 ALPINE ACCENTOR. 
 
 Accentor collaris. ' 
 
 As this species is strictly an inhabitant of rocky and moun- 
 tainous districts, it has rarely been observed in the county, 
 and only once by myself. This specimen I distinctly saw, 
 and watched through a binocular for some minutes, on my 
 own lawn at Cowfold, when it suddenly rose up and dis- 
 
ALPINE AOCENTOE.— HEDGE- SPARROW, &1 
 
 appeared round the corner of the house, and I could not find 
 it again. I have lost the date. My attention was called to 
 it by its shambling gait, and by the bright chestnut colour 
 of its sides. 
 
 In Yarrell's 'British Birds/ vol. i. p. 397, it is thus 
 written : — " Mr. Porter states {' Zoologist/ p. 5958) that on 
 December 36th, 1857, two were shot on the Downs near 
 Lewes, and Mr. Dsnnis, writing to me respecting the same 
 specimens, informs me that they were shot near Hailsham." 
 
 HEDGE SPARED W. 
 
 Accentor modularis. 
 
 This generally diffused and unobtrusive little bird is one of 
 the tamest and most familiar of all the inhabitants of our 
 gardens, and is fond of frequenting the immediate precincts 
 of our dwellings, where it diligently searches the drains and 
 sewers, &c. Notwithstanding its peaceful disposition, it 
 generally manages to hold its own very well in the 
 numerous contests with its fellow pensioners for the food 
 thrown out of window for the birds in general, in the winter. 
 It is extremely hardy, never seeming to shift its locality in 
 the severest weather, and even when the ground is covered 
 with snow, it may be heard uttering its simple but cheering 
 little song. ' Whether its note is of a sufficiently distinguished 
 order to entitle it to its specific name " Modularis " I cannot 
 say, but that it is a welcome addition to the monotony of a 
 wintry moi'uing I think will be readily admitted by all. 
 
 Its food consists principally of insects and vegetable 
 matter. It has a peculiar habit of continually flirting up 
 its wings as it moves about, which has given rise to the pro- 
 vincial name of " Shufflewing/' but in this county.it is 
 generally known as the " Hedgepick." 
 
 e2 
 
S2 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 REDBREAST. 
 
 Erithacus rubecula. 
 
 This appears to be a universal favourite^ and from its con- 
 fiding nature and familiarity has earned for itself in most of 
 the countries it inhabits some name or other of endearment 
 and affection. 
 
 Wherever the labourer may go, not only in the garden, 
 but even in the distant woodlands, no sooner does he begin 
 to break up the ground than the Robin is with him to pick 
 up any worm or grub that he may happen to disturb, and 
 may often be seen sitting on the handle of some tool which 
 he may have cast aside. 
 
 Notwithstanding this tameness with regard to man, he is 
 most pugnacious, and shows the greatest audacity should 
 any other of his own species presume to ceme too near to 
 his nest, or even to the part of the garden he may have 
 arrogated to himself. He sings in the spring, but princi- 
 pally in the autumn and winter. The Robin feeds on berries 
 and most garden fruits, and is especially addicted to red 
 currants. Worms also, and chrysalids, form a considerable 
 portion of his diet, and he is very fond of corn in general, 
 more particularly of wheat. He feeds also on the berries of 
 the mountain-ash. 
 
 Although he is resident he is partially migratory, and 
 receives periodical additions from the continent. This bird 
 is an early riser, and one of the last to retire at night. The 
 materials of the nest appear to vary greatly, being sometimes 
 moss, feathers, and hair, at another principally dead leaves. 
 It is frequently found on the ground or on a bank, or 
 perhaps on the wall-plate of an outbuilding, or a hole in a 
 wall. I was once shown a nest in a lectern in the church 
 of Ashington, and heard of another built under the seat of 
 
REDBEEAST.— NIGHTINGALE. 53 
 
 a gentleman^s carriage, where it hatched its young, but the 
 carriage being one day wanted, food was put in, and the old 
 bird was enclosed, but on returning home the young were 
 found dead. 
 
 NIGHTINGALE. 
 
 Baulias luscinia. 
 
 After all that has been written of this delightful songster 
 there is no necessity for me to describe its habits, its habitat, 
 or its history. But, sad to say, there is in my immediate 
 neighbourhood a district wherein tradition saith that the 
 Nightingale shall not be heard. A holy recluse, who had 
 fixed his cell in St. Leonard's forest, is said to have been 
 so disturbed in his devotions by its continual singing that 
 he banished it from its precincts. Indeed some say that the 
 recluse was no other than St. Leonard himself, but it is 
 hard to put the saddle on the right horse at this distance of 
 time, for the legend is at least as old as the days of 
 Henry VIII., since, in the ' Boke of Knowledge,' by Andrew 
 Borde, physician to that king, occurs the following passage : — 
 "In the forest of Saint Leonarde's in Southsexe, there dothe 
 never singe Nightingale, although the f oreste rounde aboute 
 in tyme of the yeare is replenyshed {sic) with Nightyngales ; 
 they wyl syng round aboute the forest and never within the 
 precincts of the forest, as divers keepers of the foreste and 
 other credible parsons dwellyng there dyd shewe me." * But 
 whatever "credible parsons" say or said, I myself have 
 frequently heard the aforesaid songster pouring forth his 
 melody, regardless of consequences, in many parts of the 
 forest. 
 
 * See ' Sussex Archaeological Collections, vol. vi. p. 212. 
 
54 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 BLUETHKOAT. 
 
 Ruticilla suecica. 
 
 A FEMALE was killed near Worthing May 2, 1853^ and is 
 mentioned in Yarrell's 'British Birds' (vol. i. p. 322). 
 October 1, 1863, a beautiful adult bird was seen by a boy 
 on the South Downs, between Brighton and Stanmore Park, 
 flying among the furzes from bush to bush. It was in the 
 fullest plumage. It uttered no note, and on perching spread 
 out its tail. The boy knocked it down with a stick, and 
 took it alive to Mr. Pratt's shop at Brighton, where I saw 
 it. It had been put in a cage and kept very much to the 
 bottom of it, and even then spread out its tail to its fullest 
 extent when disturbed. It looked all right, but Mr. Pratt, 
 fearing it would spoil its plumage in the cage, soon after- 
 wards killed it, and set it up for me, and I now have it in 
 my own collection. In this specimen the spot in the centre 
 of the breast is bright chestnut-red. It feeds on insects, 
 but of its general habits I have no personal knowledge, and I 
 can only add that to this county it is a visitant of the greatest 
 rarity. Both these examples are recorded in the ' Zoologist,' 
 the first at p. 3907, the second at p. 8381. 
 
 REDSTART. 
 
 Buticilla phcenicurus. 
 
 The Redstart appears about the middle of April, resting for 
 a few days near the coast, especially in some grassy spot, 
 even in towns, such as the lawns of the Pavilion at Brighton, 
 and in Wellington Square at Hastings, in both of which 
 places I have seen it picking up insects, worms, &c. It has 
 
REDSTART. 55 
 
 a very soft and pleasing note, but . I have never heard it in 
 Sussex, though frequently in other counties. 
 
 It is most common on the alluvial tracts between the 
 Downs and the sea in west Sussex, and to the eastward 
 about Hastings and Redhill. It is also occasionally met 
 with on the sandy parts about Storringtonand Henfield, and 
 much more rarely in the clayey portions o£ the Weald. I 
 have only seen three examples at Cowfold in forty years, 
 one on my lawn in .April 1849, and a male accompanied by 
 a young bird in my orchard in 1852. 
 
 It breeds very sparingly in Sussex, in old fruit trees, in 
 holes in the trunk, or in the interior of the thatch of some 
 outbuilding, or in a wall. It builds a rather loose nest with 
 a good deal of green moss externally, and lines it principally 
 with horsehair and a few feathers, but is not very particular 
 respecting the material, as I once found that it had made 
 use of about a quarter of a yard of valuable lace, which it 
 had stolen from a summerhouse where a lady had been 
 sitting at work. It is remarkable that it should so seldom 
 breed in Sussex, as I have frequently, in my younger days, 
 found the nest in the very southernmost parts of Surrey, 
 especially about Leith Hill. 
 
 BLACK EEDSTART. 
 
 Euticilla titys. 
 
 Is a regular autumn visitant to the coast, but appears to have 
 been long overlooked, though one of the first examples 
 noticed in England was obtained near Brighton (at Hove) 
 in 1830 (Yarrell, B. B- vol. i. p. 333). 
 
 It generally arrives about October, but although it has 
 occasionally remaioied as late as April, I am not aware that 
 
56 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 the nest has ever been found in Sussex. "With us it is very 
 much confined to the seaside^ and is fond of flitting ahout 
 the rocks, or clinging to the face of the cliffs, and even to 
 the parapets of the houses in Brighton, and it also has been 
 observed to do the same at Worthing and Hastings. Its 
 principal food is insects, but I once saw a quantity of hop- 
 seeds taken from the crop of one which had been shot on a 
 heap of manure, on which had been thrown some refuse from 
 a brewery. 
 
 I have notes, made at the time, of an immature male shot 
 in the neighbourhood of Brighton, October 20th, 1843, and 
 of a female shot there 'November 20th, 1849, also of a finely 
 marked adult male shot in Brighton Park, November 23rd, 
 1857, as well as of another male, obtained on March 7th, 
 1859, at HilFs Farm, near Horsham, an unusual distance 
 from the sea. 
 
 Mr. Knox characterizes this bird as a winter visitant, and 
 mentions several specimens of it as obtained from Brighton, 
 and others from Chichester and Hastings. 
 
 References to the ' Zoologist ' are : — (P. 188) " A Black 
 Redstart was shot on a wall at Brighton, on October 16th, 
 and another, also on a wall, in December 1839, and between 
 the latter date and April 1843 three males and one female 
 were seen and shot, all by Mr. Swaysland." (P. 2799) An 
 adult bird killed at Piddinghoe, March 31st, and an imma- 
 ture male near Lewes, April 1st, 1852. (P. 3033) A female 
 shot in a chalk-pit near Lewes. (P. 3329) One killed at 
 Brighton, November 26th. (P. 9040) Another caught by a 
 birdcatcher near Eastbourne, in November 1864, and again 
 another, near Birling Gap. (P. 597, s.s.) A pair seen and 
 female shot, at Ashling, in October 1862. (P. 3476) Another 
 shot at Railton, near Eastbourne. (P. 3907) One taken near 
 Worthing, 1853. 
 
 From the number appearing every year along the coast 
 
STONECHAT.— WHINOHAT. 57 
 
 since it was first distinguishedj the Black Redstart can 
 scarcely now be called a very rare bird ; in fact it may be 
 classed as a regular winter visitant, though in small 
 numbers. 
 
 STONECHAT. 
 
 Saodcola ruUcola. 
 
 Resident, but less numerous, in winter, principally fre- 
 quenting the masses of furze on the Downs, or the open 
 heaths and commons more inland, where it may be seen 
 perched on the highest points of the furze, constantly 
 uttering its note, which has been compared to the sound 
 made by knocking two stones together, hence the name. 
 It also gives forth a rather pleasing little song while flitting 
 about from bush to bush. 
 
 It feeds on insects, and particularly on beetles. In April 
 it builds a rather large and clumsy nest of coarse grass and 
 green moss, generally on the ground on the inside of a furze, 
 or other bush (close to the bottom), and well concealed by 
 thick herbage. 
 
 WHINCHAT. 
 
 Saxicola ruhetra. 
 
 This little bird arrives about the middle of April. It is to 
 be found in similar districts to the preceding, and particu- 
 larly in large tracts of furze, but is more generally diffused, 
 being partial to enclosed parts of the Weald, where it may 
 often be found about the hedges of our meadows and culti- 
 
58 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 vated fields^ flitting about from bush to bush, feeding on 
 insects and berries, particularly on blackberries. 
 
 I am not aware of its having any actual song, its usual 
 note being a hurried repetition of the syllables " tic-tic." 
 
 It is fond of perching about on the haycocks in haymaking 
 time, and builds its nest on the ground, formed of grass, and 
 lined with the finer portions of the same. 
 
 In the northern counties " Whin " is the name of what 
 we call "Furze," whence they call this bird "WMnchat" 
 and we Fursechat, both, of course, from its fondness for 
 that shrub. In some parts of Sussex it is also known as the 
 Burleyear, though from what cause I have never been able 
 to <liscover. This and the Stonechat are also known as the 
 " Stonechucker." 
 
 WHEATEAR. 
 
 Saxicola oenanthe. 
 
 The Wheatear is, I think, the earliest of our immigrants, 
 as I was in the habit, some years since, of riding to a certain 
 spot on the Downs every spring, on purpose to see if it had 
 yet come, and there are few seasons in which I have not 
 found it there on the 1st of March. It arrives sometimes 
 in large numbers together. I remember on the morning of 
 the 22nd of March, 1881, at Eastbourne, the beach about 
 7 A.M. was completely covered with them, and they were 
 sitting in numbers on the small trees, and on the backs of 
 the seats on the esplanade, and I saw also several parties of 
 ten or a dozen arriving from the sea. They did not appear 
 at all fatigued, and on my going again to the esplanade at 
 10.30 there was not one to be seen. 
 A celebrated old shepherd of the South Downs, in a com- 
 
WHEATEAR. 59 
 
 munication of great interest made to the late Mr. Blencowe, 
 of the Hookj near Chailey, speaking of a time when, in 1883, 
 he was head shepherd on Westside Farm, near Brighton, 
 states thus: — "The farm extending along the seacoast, I 
 caught great numbers of Wheatears during the season for 
 taking them, which lasts from the middle of July to the end 
 of August. The most I ever caught in one day was thirteen 
 dozen, but we thought it a good day if we caught three or 
 four dozen. We sold them to a poulterer at Brighton, who 
 took all we could catch in a season at I8d. a dozen. ' From 
 what I have heard from old shepherds, it cannot be doubted 
 that they were caught in much greater numbers a century 
 ago than of late. I have heard them speak of an immense 
 number being taken in one day by a shepherd at East Dean, 
 near Beachy Head. I think they said he took nearly a 
 hundred dozen, so many that they could not thread them on 
 crow-quills, in the usual manner, but he took ofif his round 
 frock and made a sack of it to put them into, and his wife 
 did the same with her petticoat. This must have happened 
 when there was a great flight. Their numbers now are so 
 decreased that some shepherds do not set up any coops, as it 
 does not pay for the trouble." 
 
 Mr. Mark Antony Lower, in his ' Glimpses of our 'Sussex 
 Ancestors,-" p. 96, gives the following amusing colloquy 
 between two old shepherds : — " One was telling the other 
 how he had known the time when in a single year from 
 forty to fifty thousand sheep had been washed near the spot 
 where they were sitting. 'And now,' he exclaimed, 'there 
 be none ! ... As to birding,' he continued, in a still more 
 doleful tone, ' birding is now all auver ; why I used to make 
 quite a harvest of my birds ; twelve pound a year I have 
 made of ray birds, and one year I made fourteen pound eight 
 shillings. We sent them, you see, to Burthemson (Bright, 
 helmstone — Brighton), and otherwhile we catchcd so many 
 
60 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 that the Burthemsoners couldn't take 'em all, and I myself 
 have sent some to Tunbridge "Wells. That was the time o£ 
 dee, Old Boy, for shepherds.' " 
 
 The song is rarely uttered except when the female is 
 sitting close at hand, and the performer is generally perched 
 on a stone, or some ant-hill overgrown with grass ; it is short 
 and very pleasing, and is repeated every few minutes. On 
 these occasions the bird is remarkably imperturbable, and I 
 have heard it continue its song without showing the least 
 concern while I have taken its loving partner from her nest 
 in an old rabbit-hole. 
 
 The nest is usually a mass of short pieces of the fern 
 generally known in Sussex as Brake {Pteris aquilina, the 
 Bracken of the North), and moss, wool, and rabbit's fur. 
 A rabbit's hole being the only place in which I have found 
 it, the nest has always been too much pulled to pieces for 
 me to see what might have been its form before it was 
 disturbed. 
 
 To show how great a luxury these birds were formerly 
 considered for the table we may look back to the time of 
 Charles II., and I cannot refrain from giving the following 
 extract from ' Sussex Archaeological Collections,' vol. xi. 
 (p. 32) 1859 : — " In the coat of arms of the Wilsons well 
 do the Wheatears deserve a conspicuous quartering. The 
 finest and fattest birds were found on the Downs about 
 Beachy Head ; and, alas ! in far greater numbers than is the 
 case nowadays. They were a great card in Mr. Wilson's 
 hand, and he played it freely and ably. Who shall say 
 whether his loyalty or his Wheatears had most to do with 
 his elevation to the rank of baronet, which took place 
 almost immediately after the Restoration ? Certain it is that 
 Charles II. was exceedingly fond of them, and equally certain 
 that Mr. Wilson supplied his Majesty very freely. 
 
 "Dr. Burton, writing to his daughter, tells her he had 
 
WHEATEAB. 61 
 
 heard that at a dinner given by the Earl of Dorset to the 
 King and the Duke of York, they had eaten twenty dozen of 
 them." 
 
 Again (pp. 83, 84) " I heare," writes the Earl of Dorset, 
 " that my old friend Mr. Dr. Burton (the Rector of Broad- 
 water) is nott at Bourne ; but understanding you to dwell 
 there, I am hopeful to procure the same friendly respects I 
 was wont to receive from him. My request is, that -when 
 Wheatears are best, you would, for the short time they last, 
 now and then oblige mee with some of them. I would not 
 bee a beggar, as poore as I am, if they weare provisions to 
 be bought for money in these parts j but since you are there- 
 abouts a great, if not sole master of them, I am very willing 
 to be beholdinge to you, with assurance that, -whensoever it 
 is in my power, you shall finde me 
 
 " Your very affect* friend, 
 " July 30, 1646." " Dorset." 
 
 Fuller, in his ' Worthies ' (vol. ii. p, 383), thus describes 
 them : — " Wheatears is a bird peculiar to this country, 
 hardly found out of it. It is so called because fattest when 
 wheat is ripe, whereon it feeds, being no bigger than a Lark, 
 which it equals in the fineness of its flesh, but far exceedeth 
 in the fatness thereof. . . . That palate man shall pass in 
 silence, who, being seriously demanded his judgement con- 
 cerniug the abilities of a great lord, concluded him a man 
 of very weak parts, because he once saw him, at a great 
 feast, feed on chickens when there were Wheatears on the 
 table." Mr. Harting, in his ' Summer Migrants,' very aptly 
 remarks " that Wheatear is a corruption from Whitear, the 
 white around the ear being very conspicuous in spring 
 plumage of this species, or else it must be derived from the 
 season of its arrival," and this latter is suggested by Mr, 
 A. C. Smith, in his 'Birds of Wiltshire' (g. 152), as the 
 true origin, adding " but then I submit that it cannot allude 
 
02 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 to the wheat being in ear^ when it reaches us in the middle 
 of March, but must refer to the old meaning of ear, ' to 
 plough/ and unquestionably the Wheatear does arrive when 
 the ploughing and sowing of spring wheat is in operation." 
 The quantity of open grassland on the South Downs being 
 so much diminished of late years by ploughing, thg immense 
 number of these birds which rest upon them on their pass- 
 age from the inland counties must, from mere want of space, 
 be compelled to resort in considerable numbers to the 
 fallows, and they have thence obtained the name of Fallow- 
 chat. 
 
 I have never met with the Wheatear in the Weald in any 
 number together, but only now and then two or three 
 isolated birds, on some common or some open meadow on 
 their first appearance, and again at the time of their de- 
 parture. I have occasionally observed on the South Downs, 
 though much more frequently in the birdstuffers' shops, a 
 considerably larger race of Wheatear than those ordinarily 
 met with. Though it has never been admitted as a distinct 
 species, it differs not only in size, but in its habit of perch- 
 ing in trees when disturbed. The best published account 
 of this race which I have met with is that of Mr. "Booth, 
 who, in his ' Rough Notes,' vol. ii. says thus : — " In addition 
 to the bird which arrives on our coast in March and early 
 in April, a larger variety makes its appearance at a some- 
 what later date. This form is seldom seen before the middle 
 of April, and continues to land till the end of the first or 
 second week in May. It is perfectly correct that the 
 common Wheatear seldom, if ever, perches on trees or 
 bushes, though the large form, if disturbed, usually makes 
 its way to a commanding position either on a twig or a 
 hedgerow, or even on the topmost branches of some lofty 
 tree. ... I never succeeded in discovering the nest of the 
 larger Wheatear. I have, however, been assured, by persons 
 
i 1.; Kciilcin.ui:. Av\ i-.-[ jdli 
 
 MinteiTi. BrdH , Chronu^ htK. 
 
 THE RUFOUS WARBLER. 
 
WHEATEAR.-EUFOUS WARBLER. 63 
 
 well acquainted with the variety, that these birds breed on 
 the South Downs at times in rabbit-burrows, after the 
 fashion of their smaller relatives. The eggs are described 
 as being slightly marked with rusty blotches or spots. This 
 information concerning their nesting I give for what it is 
 worth, my own opinion being that this form only passes 
 our islands on its way to the far North. . . . With regard 
 to the habits of the two forms, they may be described as 
 similar, with the exception of the far later date at which the 
 larger form reaches our shores, and its predilection for 
 perching on bushes or trees. ^' 
 
 RUFOUS WARBLER. 
 
 Aedon galactodes. 
 
 The first example of this species obtained in England was 
 shot by Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton, at Plumpton Bosthill, 
 about six miles from that town, on the 16th of September, 
 1854. I quote from his letter to me, which I have before 
 me : " When I first saw it I took it for a cream-coloured 
 Nightingale, but as I had no gun with me I had to go four 
 miles for one ; when I retarned it was near 6 o'clock p.m. 
 I found the bird about twenty yards from where I first saw 
 it, in some furze. There were no trees within quarter of a 
 mile of the place. The bird was very shy, and I was quite 
 sure it was not a common Nightingale, as it had more of the 
 appearance and flight of the young of the Red-backed Shrike, 
 and when alighted in the furzebush it did not stop in till I 
 came near to it, but took a circle round, about sixteen yards 
 from the ground, back to the same place from whence I first 
 drove it. It was difficult to get within thirty yards of it." 
 
64 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 I obtained the bird and sent it to Mr. Yarrell; from whom 
 I received a letter stating it to be Sylvia galactodes ; see 
 ' British Birds/ vol. i. p. 356, where the words quoted are : 
 " The bird, on dissection, proved to be a male, and would 
 shortly have moulted, one or two of the young feathers of 
 the primaries having made their appearance on each wing ; 
 these are darker than the old oues. The feathers also on 
 the back and tail, especially the central ones of the latter, 
 are much worn." 
 
 Respecting this bird I have no further personal knowledge, 
 neither have I ever heard of any other specimen being 
 obtained in this country. I recorded it in the ' Zoologist,' 
 p. 4511. 
 
 GREAT EEED-WARBLER. 
 
 Acrocephalus arundinaceus. 
 
 Although the specimen was not obtained, I venture to 
 insert the following taken from the private notes of Mr. 
 Jeffery : — " 1885, July 36. Saw a bird in Ratham garden, 
 which I feel satisfied was the Thrush-like Warbler of Yarrell, 
 S. turdoides of Gould's 'Birds of Europe.' The note was 
 harsh and guttural, and reminded me of the Ring Ousel. 
 It had also another note, a high-toned shriek. I had a good 
 view of it close, and noticed positively that the tail was 
 wedge-shaped, size rather larger than the Nightingale, which 
 bird it much resembled in colour." 
 
RBED-WARBLEE. 65 
 
 EEED-WARBLER. 
 
 Acrocephalus streperus. 
 
 This little bird arrives late in April, and as a species is 
 somewhat local. It is seldom found far from water, though 
 the nest has occasionally occurred at some considerable dis- 
 tance from it. Soon after its arrival it betakes itself to the 
 reed-beds of our river banks, or to those ditches, in the 
 marshy levels through which those rivers generally flow for 
 a few miles before reaching the sea ; there it forms its nest 
 among the reeds in such a manner as to be supported by 
 two or three, or three or four, reed-stems carefully woven 
 into its structure, and as the reeds are constantly swayed 
 to and fro by the winds, it is constructed of unusual 
 depth, by which the eggs are not liable to be thrown out. 
 
 The Cuckoo very frequently selects the Reed- Warbler as 
 a foster-mother to its young. 
 
 Its food consists of insects and small moUusca. It is 
 rather silent during the day, only occasionally uttering a 
 sort of chatter, but after sunset it suddenly breaks out into 
 song and continues singing incessantly throughout the 
 night. 
 
 It may be met with in suitable spots about most of the 
 large reed-fringed ponds in the county, particularly some of 
 those in St. Leonard's Forest, and had at one time a favourite 
 haunt on the Salts Farm, not far west of the old bridge at 
 Shoreham, over the Adur, but on the opening of the railway 
 the birds forsook the place. It is still abundant on the 
 banks of the Arun, from Burpham to Amberley, though 
 about the latter place it is becoming less numerous owing to 
 the draining of the marshes. 
 
86 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 SEDGE-WARBLER. 
 
 Acrocephalu9 schcenobcenus. 
 
 Areiving in April, and spreading immediately over the 
 county, it betakes itself to some sedgy willow-plot, or to the 
 borders of some ditch or brook overgrown by aquatic herb- 
 age, or even to the banks of ponds and pits. Here, among 
 stunted hawthorn or other bushes, browsed down by cattle 
 or nibbled by rabbits, it frequently builds its nest. I have 
 more than once found it in a bean-field by the water, where 
 the crop was bound down by the white convolvulus, aptly 
 called in Sussex, and probably in other counties, the " bind- 
 weed.'^ A field of beans, if near any pond or brook, has 
 certainly a peculiar attraction for this bird, and it is fond of 
 sitting and singing among them, probably beflause it is there 
 well concealed and can find a plentiful supply of aphides and 
 such like congenial food. 
 
 It is not so much attached to reed -beds as the preceding 
 species, and not being so much exposed to the winds, its 
 nest is more open and not so deep. It keeps up a constant 
 chattering by day and during the greater part of the night, 
 and, should it be a short time silent, its song will be at once 
 resumed should a stone be thrown into its place of con- 
 cealment. 
 
 It not unfrequently sings on the wing while mounting up 
 to a considerable height on to a w411(iw or other tree near 
 the waterside, rising to its perch with a quivering flight, and 
 descending again to the thick herbage, very much in the 
 manner of the Tree-Pipit, when, after rising in the air, it 
 returns to the highest point of a tree or bush. Like most 
 of its congeners it leaves the country in September, in the 
 early part of which month I have often flushed a considerable 
 
J G Ifcuiema.n?! del, el, lith. 
 
 Mintern. Bi'os . Ctil-omo lii-K. 
 
 THE AQUATIC WARBLER. 
 Acrocepti.alus aqu-aticus 
 
SEDGE-WARBLER.— AQUATIC WARBLER. 67 
 
 number of them, while shooting in the turnips on the north 
 side of, and in close proximity to, the South Downs, Mr. 
 Jeffery, in his priv.ate notes, states that it imitates the song 
 of the Willow-Warbler. 
 
 AQUATIC WARBLER. 
 
 Acrocephalus aquaticus. 
 
 The first example of this species which had then been re- 
 cognized in England, and the only one which has yet been 
 recorded as having occurred in this county, was shot by 
 Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, on the 19th of October, 1853, from 
 whom I obtained it. Though I took it at first to be a very 
 bright example of the Sedge Warbler, I was never perfectly 
 satisfied about it, and on showing it to Professor Newton he 
 at once pronounced it to be the above species, and most 
 kindly exhibited it at a meeting of the Zoological Society 
 {vide Proc. Zool. Soc. 1865, p. 210). 
 
 Till Professor Newton saw the example in my collection 
 this species had never been included in any work on British 
 Ornithology. I confess, therefore, that I did not know 
 what it was. Its habits are, doubtless, very similar to those 
 of the preceding species, but, as I have never even seen 
 the bird alive , I can say nothing of them from personal 
 knowledge. - - 
 
 In the 'Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich 
 Naturalists' Society ' for 1871 and 1872, Mr. J. H. Gumey 
 remarks : " I cannot help thinking that the Aquatic Warbler 
 often occurs in this country. . . . There can be no doubt 
 that the figure in Hunt's ' British Birds ' was taken from 
 one in all probability obtained in Norfolk, but there is no 
 letterpress to accompany it." 
 
 f2 
 
■68 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 GRASSHOPPEK-WARBLEK. 
 
 Acrocephalus ncevius. 
 
 ThiSj like most of our immigrants, arrives in the county in 
 April, departing in September. It is by no means uncom- 
 mon, and, provided there is sufficient concealment, it does 
 not seem at all particular in the choice- of its locality; 
 neither does the immediate vicinity of water appear to be 
 requisite. 
 
 For its nesting purposes, however, it chooses some tangled 
 hedgerow, or some spot in a thick furze-field, where the 
 ground is overgrown with long grass and close-growing 
 herbage, and the nest is most carefully concealed. It is 
 fond of placing it in a wheel-rut close to a hedge and over- 
 grown with weeds, and when approaching or leaving it, is 
 careful not to show itself within forty or fifty yards of it, 
 which makes it extremely difiicult to discover the nest, the 
 rut being often full of brambles and rough bushes. As a 
 proof of the difficulty of finding the nest, I am quite sure 
 that one pair at least have, for the last forty years, bred 
 within a hundred yards of my house, but I have sougTit it 
 in vain. Besides the places I have mentioned, this bird 
 frequently builds in marshy spots covered with sedge or 
 flags. I have never found the nest myself, but my son 
 brought me the eggs from one he found some years ago in 
 St. Leonard's Forest. 
 
 That the bird is so little known is hardly to be wondered 
 at, as even its trilling note would not strike an ordinary 
 observer as having anything to do with a bird, and might 
 easily be supposed to proceed from a cricket or grasshopper, 
 and should he catch sight of it in the cover, its movements 
 are so much like those of a mouse, that he might easily mis- 
 take it for one. It is, moreover, frequently a difficult mattei* 
 
GRASSHOPPER.WAEBLEK.— DARTFORD WARBLER. 69 
 
 to ascertain froia whence the sound proceeds, which may 
 perhaps be accounted for by the habit which the bird has 
 while uttering its note of turning its head in all directions. 
 I once watched a Grasshopper- Warbler from a seat in a 
 summerhouse, not more than eight or ten yards distant from 
 it, and was surprised to see that, while pouring forth its 
 note, its raouth appeared to be wide open, and I could not 
 detect the slightest movement o£ either mandible, but it 
 might have been too rapid for my eye to follow. During all 
 this time it kept up a constant quivering with its wings. 
 
 DARTFOED WARBLER. 
 
 MelizopMlus undatus. 
 
 This bird is found locally in many parts of the South 
 Downs, where it is resident. I have also frequently seen 
 it when shooting in turnips near the northern slope of those 
 hills, and have traced it from Dover to the Land's End. 
 
 It is occasionally found on furzy commons further in- 
 land. It is not so abundant in the locality named as it 
 formerly was, partly owing to the nests having of late years 
 been taken in considerable numbers, and to heavy snows 
 having broken down the furze. 
 
 Mr. Knox mentions a nest having been taken on the 
 3rd of May, 1844, on the " Broyle," near Chichester. 
 
 In the 'Zoologist' (p. 3113) Mr. Ellman gives an in- 
 teresting account of the manners of the Dartford Warbler, 
 and mentions a female shot by him on the 12th of October, 
 ,and a male, on the 7th of November, 1851. Mr. Wilson 
 states, in the same journal (p. 6606), that in the neighbour- 
 hood of Worthing, a male and female were taken in the 
 summer of 1853, a male in 1857, and young in 1858. At 
 
70 THE BIEDS OF SUSSEX 
 
 p. 59, S.S., Mr. Booth writes of the same bird, that it gene- 
 rally feeds its young on the bodies of a large yellow moth, 
 and that in winter, he has several dmes met with it among 
 stunted thorn-bushes and straggling furze, on the beach 
 between Eastbourne and PevSnsey. 
 
 Mr. Harting mentions that he shot a male specimen on 
 Beptou Hill, February 16th, 1863. Mr. Jeffery also ob- 
 served a pair on Heyshot Common, near Midhurst (see 
 'Zoologist' for 1881, p. 49); and Mrs. Merrifield, in her 
 ' Sketch of the Natural History of Brighton/ speaks of the 
 Dartford Warbler as a very scarce bird (pp. 167, 168). 
 
 In a letter from Mr. EUman, dated April 29th, 1852, he 
 informs me that young Dartford Warblers can fly well, and 
 that instead of being a late breeder, it is the earliest he 
 knows of. He says : — " Yesterday I saw thirty or forty 
 full-grown young ones, but with the tail-feathers only an 
 inch in length, and the bill only half grown." He further 
 says that he has found these birds in considerable numbers 
 on parts of the South Downs about Lewes and Seaford. 
 
 I am not aware that it has any provincial name in Sussex, 
 but in Dorsetshire, on the heaths about Bournemouth, it is 
 known by the cowboys by the remarkable title of " The 
 French Blackbird," and indeed it is not inapplicable, for 
 few, if any, birds that are not black, look darker when on 
 the wing. 
 
 WHITETHEOAT. 
 
 Sylvia rufa. 
 
 This species makes its first appearance in April, but it is 
 not till May is pretty well advanced that it arrives in any 
 considerable numbers. It is then in very bright plumage. 
 
WHITETHEOAT.— LESSEE WHITETHEOAT. 71 
 
 having the breast almost pink. After the breeding-season 
 it becomes much duller, assuming a somewhat faded ap- 
 pearance. It frequents hedgerows and plantations, where it 
 may often be heard and seen, as it has a habit of rising 
 suddenly a foot or two above the top of a hedge, singing 
 loudly, jerking its tail, flitting about for a moment, and then 
 disappearing again into its thickest parts. 
 
 It feeds on insects, though, from its great partiality to the 
 rows of pea-sticks in the kitchen garden, it is generally 
 accused of doing great injury to the crop, and devouring 
 great quantities of peas, whereas it is engaged in the search 
 of aphides and caterpillars; It does, however, take a fair 
 share of currants, and delights in raspberries. It generally 
 nests in the roughest brambles near the ground, and from 
 its being partial to thick beds of nettles, it has obtained the 
 name of Nettlecreeper. The Whitethroat composes its nest 
 of dead grass, and is specially fond of using the stalks of the 
 common white Galium, generally known as lady's bedstraw, 
 lining it very slightly with horsehair. 
 
 LESSER WHITETHROAT. 
 
 Sylvia curruca. 
 
 In the Weald this is less abundant than the former species, 
 though all along the coast it even exceeds it in numbers. 
 
 It arrives about the middle of April, and usually remains 
 with us till the end of September, feeding on insects and 
 various berries, particularly those of the ivy, the elder, and 
 the privet. It is not so noisy as the preceding, its notes, 
 though abundant, being pitched in a lower key. If any one 
 approaches it when it has young- both parents show the 
 
72 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 greatest alarm, flitting from branch to branch, and uttering 
 unceasingly a note resembling the syllable " churr/' repeated 
 over and over again with the greatest rapidity. 
 
 The nest is formed of the very finest bents of dried stalks, 
 generally of umbelliferous plants, with the hairs of horses 
 and cattle, and is placed in the middle of the thickest 
 bushes. 
 
 GAEDEN-WARBLEE. 
 
 Sylvia salicaria. 
 
 The Garden-Warbler arrives late, and does not make itself 
 heard in the Weald earlier than the end of April. It is a 
 very shy and retiring bird, being miich more often heard 
 than seen. In my own neighbourhood it generally, at first, 
 conceals itself in low bushes in copses and hedgerows, or in 
 shrubberies, and it is not till it has been some time in the 
 country that its notes are heard from the tops of the oaks 
 and other high trees. In fact I do not think it is heard 
 much before the hen is sitting on its nest. From that time 
 it continues to sing from the tops of the trees till the end of 
 July or the beginning of August. It is very fond of fruit, 
 for which it enters our gardens, and pays special attention 
 to the cherries, whence it has obtained the name of " Cherry- 
 sucker/^ it feeds also on many other berries, especially 
 those of the ivy, the privet, and the elder. It builds a rather 
 slight-looking nest, though firmly put together, and consist- 
 ing of the lightest dried grass and goose-grass, lined with 
 cow's hair and a little wool. 
 
 To my mind, its song, though often much more continuous, 
 is not so attractive as that of the Blackcap, nor does it con- 
 clude with the clear flute-like notes of that species. The 
 
GARDEN-WARBLER.— BLACKCAP. 73 
 
 editor of Vol. I. of the 4th edition of YarrelPs B. B. 
 informs us that it was first made known as a native of this 
 country by Willughby. 
 
 BLACKCAP. 
 
 Sylvia atricapilla. 
 
 The Blackcap, the Wheatear, and the Chiffchaff are, I 
 think, the earliest of our immigrants to herald the glad 
 tidings of the approach of spring. I have several times 
 heard the very pleasing note of the Blackcap as early as the 
 1st of March. Like the Garden- Warbler it is very fond of 
 fruits and berries, and it appears to have the same predi- 
 lection for cherries, privet, and elderberries. 
 
 The nest also is very similar, but the bird is much more 
 familiar, and often places it in shrubberies, where it seems 
 rather to court its destruction by selecting some loose and 
 open-growing bush such as the snowberry, in one of which, 
 in my own garden, a nest was built for four consecutive 
 seasons, presumably by the same pair of birds, or by the 
 advice of a survivor of a former tenant of the nest. 
 
 I have not noticed that it betakes itself to higher branches 
 of the trees, but it appears rather to prefer the lower shrubs 
 and bushes. It leaves the country early in September, Mr. 
 Jeifery remarks, in his private notes, that the Blackcap feeds 
 on ripe figs, the berries of the Daphne mezereum, and those 
 of the mountain-ash, which it swallows whole. 
 
74 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 ORPHEAN WARBLER. 
 
 Sylvia orphea. 
 
 The only reason to suppose that this species has ever 
 occurred in Sussex, is the statement made by Mr. Gould, on 
 Mr. Howard Saunders's authority, and repeated in the fourth 
 edition of Yarrell's B. B. (vol. i. p. 424), to the effect that 
 eggs believed to have belonged to it have been taken at East 
 Grinstead. 
 
 WOOD-WREN. 
 
 Phylloscopus sibilatrix. . 
 
 Gilbert AVhite seems to have been the first to clearly dis- 
 tinguish this species, though it is stated in YarreU's ' British 
 Birds ' (vol. i. pp. 386, 428, note) that Johnson, of Brignall, 
 in Yorkshire, had described it to Ray. It is a summer im- 
 migrant, somewhat local, arriving in the first or second week 
 in May, when, after passing over the Downs and the clays 
 of the Weald, and remaining a few days among the high 
 trees on its route, it settles its abode in the large woods of 
 beech and oak in the dry or sandy districts ; Stanmer Park, 
 ■however, though on the chalk, is one of its favourite haunts. 
 It is particularly abundant in St. Leonard's Forest, where 
 its loud sibilant note may be heard in all directions, keeping 
 up the while a constant shivering of its wings. It has also, 
 when the female is sitting, another note, resembling the 
 syllable "chee" three or four times repeated. It lives 
 entirely on insects, occasionally capturing them on the wing. 
 It builds its nest on the ground, generally among drifts of 
 
WOOD- WREN— WILLOW- WREN. 75 
 
 dead leaves, and under the shelter of a tuft of herbage or a 
 small bush. Its nest is constructed of dry grass and moss, 
 with dead leaves, and lined with hair, feathers being never 
 used, and is generally artfully concealed, but easily dis- 
 covered when the female is sitting, by watching the male, 
 who is serenading her from a neighbouring tree, and after a 
 time descends in a somewhat paraclinte-like style, and either 
 feeds his spouse or takes her .place upon the nest. This 
 being oval, domed, with an opening at the side, has in some 
 districts given this species the title of "Oven Bird." It 
 has been shot as early as the 1st of May, and departs in 
 September. 
 
 WILLOW-WREN. 
 
 Phylloscopus trochilus. 
 
 * 
 
 This is a regular spring visitant, arriving in little parties 
 sometimes as early as the second week in April, and now 
 and then continuing to do so till as late as the second week 
 in May. Immediately on its reaching the coast it proceeds 
 to the hedges and gardens, and is soon very abundant all 
 through the county, and its short, low, and somewhat mo- 
 notonous little song may be heard in every direction. It 
 feeds entirely on insects, especially on aphides, and is very 
 nseful and diligent in its search of them among our roses 
 and other cultivated plants. It does not frequent the large 
 timber woods, but prefers those in which the underwood is 
 thick and close. It places its nest on the ground, or on the 
 weedy and overgrown edge of a ditch, in some tuft of grass, 
 sheltered, in most cases, by a thick bramble or the coarse 
 herbage itself, constructing it of dry grass and moss, or 
 
76 THE BIEDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 occasionally of dry fern. The main body leaves us in Sep- 
 tember, thoiigh in a few instances the bird has been known 
 to remain as late as December. 
 
 CHIFFCHAFF. 
 
 Phylloscopus collybita. 
 
 In its habits, locality, and food this species is precisely 
 similar to the last, but in its mode of nesting there is a 
 slight difference, as this bird, though sometimes building on 
 the ground, more frequently places its nest in a low bush, or 
 on an ivy-covered stump or thick bush, or in a climbing rose 
 from eighteen inches to four or five feet from the ground. 
 It often collects a considerable mass of dead leaves and moss, 
 or white lichen, looking as if accidentally lodged there, and, 
 like the last-named species, always lines it well with feathers. 
 I am not aware that it has any other note than that from 
 which it derives its name. 
 
 GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN. 
 
 Regulus cristatus. 
 
 This little bird is resident, receiving considerable additions 
 from abroad, arriving for the most part upon the east coast 
 in the autumn. Some, however, it would appear, cross the 
 channel for the coast of Sussex, a number having been occa- 
 sionally taken in an exhausted state on board the Brighton 
 fishing-boats, as much as forty miles out at sea. Two, both 
 males, which were so taken came into my possession. I 
 once saw a very large number of these little birds which. 
 
FIRE-CRESTED WREN. 77 
 
 after a heavy gale from the S.E., had been thrown ashore a 
 little east of Yarmouth, in Norfolk. '] 
 
 Were it not now well known that it crosses the sea it 
 woiild appear almost incredible, as in its usual haunts it 
 rarely flies more than a few yards. It is a confiding and 
 gentle little bird, frequenting our plantations, especially 
 where there are fir-trees, particularly the spruce, on the 
 underside of a branch of which it often suspends its nest. 
 It sometimes, however, makes use of a lichen-covered larch for 
 that purpose, as well as the juniper, Virginian cedar, spruce, 
 or yew. The nest is formed very neatly and compactly of 
 very fine moss, thoroughly worked together with spiders' 
 webs and wool, and lined with the finest hair and small 
 feathers. I once found one on the flat surface of a bough 
 of a cedar, sunk in between two of the lateral branches. 
 
 Its habits partake a good deal of those of the Willow - 
 Wren and the Tits, and it often accompanies these birds in 
 the winter in little parties as they flit through the iinder- 
 woods from bush to bush, or tree to tree. I suppose that 
 many of these little birds congregate towards the coast with 
 a view of again passing the sea, as they are certainly much 
 more abundant in the winter than in the summer months. 
 
 FIKE-CRESTED WREN. 
 
 Regulus ignicapillus. 
 
 This species appears in this country in small numbers and 
 at very irregular periods. I have never heard of its breeding 
 in the county, and I do not know of any instance of its 
 having been obtained later than April, 
 , Its habits and manners are very similar to those of the 
 (jrolden-crested Wren. 
 
78 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 On November 5th, 1843, a specimen was brought to a 
 Brighton birdstuffer by a little girl, who said she had found 
 it dead in a garden close by ; this was a very handsome male. 
 A female was caught alive in December 1846, in a shrubbery 
 at Lancing, with the lantern and bell. 
 
 Early in November 1852, a specimen was killed with a 
 stone near Worthing, and on the 10th of the same month in 
 1854, a male was found dead at Shoreham. These three 
 specimens are now in my possession. 
 
 In March 1854, Mr. Dennis informed me that a Fire-crest 
 had been brought to him which had flown into a window of 
 a cottage at Seaford. It was put into a cage, but was very 
 restless, and lived only a day. 
 
 In the ' Zoologist' Mr. EUman writes that he shot a Fire- 
 crest on the 30th of March, 1849, in the garden of Mr. 
 Honysett at Eye (p. 3418), and Mr. Potter records (on 
 p. 2766) that a friend of his, while walking under some fir- 
 trees overhanging a pond in the neighbourhood of Lewes, 
 caught one in his hand as it was running on a fence in the 
 manner of the Common Wren, January 30th, 1850. 
 
 In p. 8446 of the volume for 1863, a Fire-crested Wren is 
 recorded, which was captured on board a collier lying ofiF 
 St. Leonards-on-Sea, on the 29th of December of that year. 
 This was about a mile from the shore. In p. 9468 of that 
 journal for 1865, one is stated to have been obtained near 
 Plumpton by Mr. Swaysland on the 24th of December in 
 the year before. In the volume of the ' Zoologist ' for 1869 
 (p. 1513) one is recorded, without date, as having been 
 obtained near Brighton, and in that for 1858 (p. 225) it is 
 stated that one was caught on the 4th of April while flutter- 
 ing against a window in North Street in that town j and on 
 the same page two more specimens are recorded as having 
 been killed near St. Leonards-on-Sea, and offered to Mr. 
 J. H. Gumey, who added one of them to his collection. 
 
FIEE-CEESTED WREN. -WREN. 79 
 
 One is mentioned by Mr. Jeflfery, in his private notes, as 
 having been obtained at Fishbourne on the 31st of October, 
 1863. 
 
 TROGLODYTID.®. 
 
 WREN. 
 
 Troglodytes parvulus. 
 
 This little bird, so often celebrated in our nursery-rhymes, 
 and in them so curiously associated with the Robin, may be 
 found in every part of the county, in the shrubbery, in the 
 fagot-stack, in the cow-house, and in all the outbuildings 
 of the garden or . the farmyard ; and the fear of man seems 
 never to have been impressed on it. It may also be seen 
 among the furze of the South Downs, on the wildest heaths 
 of the open country, or in the closest hedgerows of the more 
 cultivated districts ; in fact, wherever it is likely to find a 
 chrysalis or a spider there is the Wren. Insects are un- 
 doubtedly its principal food, .but I have myself seen it pick- 
 ing oflF and eating I'ed currants, and, when a boy, have often 
 caught it in brick traps baited with nothing but wheat, but 
 whether that was the object of its visit I cannot say. Con- 
 sidering the size of the performer, the loudness of its note 
 is perfectly astonishing, and I well remember being abso- 
 lutely startled by one of these birds suddenly bursting into 
 song as I was passing a fagot-stack at twelve o'clock on a 
 pitch-dark night, while I was walking with the patrol during 
 the agricultural riots of 1831, in the neighbourhood of 
 Chichester. 
 
 Few birds vary more in their choice of a place to build in; 
 but perhaps the aforesaid outhouses may be mentioned as 
 
80 THE BIEDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 most frequently selected, -where, in a hole in the inside of a 
 thatched roof, it forms a most conspicuous nest, externally 
 o£ green moss, and internally of feathers and fine hair. I 
 once found a nest near Henfield, against an ivy-covered oak, 
 the outside of which was entirely composed of the skele- 
 tonized leaves of Epimedium, but was lined as usual. As 
 this plant does not grow wild at all in the south of England, 
 and I have never seen it in a cottage-garden, the Wren 
 could nowhere have obtained the leaves but from my father's 
 celebrated botanic garden, at least half a mile distant. 
 
 I have a drawing of a Wren's nest which was built in a 
 bunch of old stirrups, which was hanging from a beam in a 
 blacksmith's shop at Preston, near Brighton, and the birds 
 succeeded in bringing up their young, notwithstanding that 
 the hammers of the workmen were frequently passing within 
 a few inches of them. I think the persecution of the Wren, 
 in Sussex, is a thing of the past; but in niy younger days 
 it was a regular institution to hunt it at Christmas time, 
 when numbers of boys, on both sides of the hedges, amused 
 themselves by beating the bushes and throwing at the Wren 
 whenever it showed itself, with knobbed sticks about eighteen 
 inches long, called "libbets." 
 
 Many authors have mentioned the habit this bird has of 
 beginning to build a number of nests which it never makes 
 use of, and of roosting in little companies in holes in thatch, 
 haystacks, and such situations. In severe weather I once 
 took nine of them from an old nest in the inside of the 
 thatch of a hovel. In some parts, especially in E. Sussex, 
 it is thought unlucky to touch the nest. Strange as it may 
 appear, the Wren has been occasionally found on the light- 
 houses around the coast ; though I am told that, compared 
 with other birds, the appearance of the Wren at " lights " is 
 very rare. 
 
TKEE-CREEPBR. 81 
 
 CEETHIIDJE. 
 
 TREE-CKEEPEE. 
 
 Certhia familiaris. 
 
 This is by no means an uncommon bird, though nowhere 
 numerous, and appears to be strongly attached to particular 
 localities, and is generally solitary or in pairs ; it is never 
 found far from old timber, as that of the old orchard or the 
 woods. It is a lively little creature, in constant motion, 
 and spends most of its time in diligently searching for in- 
 sects in the cracks and crevices of the trees, among which 
 the old oak and Scotch fir appear to be its favourites. On 
 their trunks it climbs with a running jerking motion, chiefly 
 in an upward direction, and proceeding spirally from the 
 bottom of the tree to the top, in which it is greatly assisted 
 by its stiff tail-feathers. It never appears to descend the 
 tree, but on reaching the top flies rapidly to the bottom of 
 another, and proceeds again as before. From its' activity in 
 climbing, it is generally known as the " T!vee-climiner." 
 
 As the time of pairing approaches, it utters a rather loud 
 and very shrill little song, and chooses for its nest some 
 place where the bark has been rent from the body of the 
 tree, and is so left as to afford room for it between it and 
 the bark. It is genera,lly composed of pieces of straw and 
 grass or fine sticks, and is lined with -any soft material. In 
 my own garden it has for several years placed its nest on 
 the side of an old chicken-house, between the boarding and 
 spruce-fir bark which had been nailed on but loosened by 
 the wind. Part of the wall of this building had been covered 
 with asphalted felt which had partially decayed, and of this 
 I saw the bird collecting the fibres and carrying them to its 
 
82 THE BIKDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 nest, notwithstanding that they smelt very strongly and were so 
 black that I afterwards saw the seven eggs greatly discoloured 
 by them. In a similar situation at the back of an old bee- 
 house was a nest, the outside of which was composed of the 
 dried flower-stalks "of the Portugal laurel, and lined entirely 
 with the cotton-like substance of the catkin of the balsam 
 poplar. 
 
 At Henfield there was a nest in a very singular situation, 
 having been placed in a hole caused by the partial decay of 
 the post, and falling out of the mortar, by the side of the 
 principal door of a cottage where people were constantly 
 passing in and out. I was told that for several years this 
 place had been made use of by Tits, but that this was the 
 first instance of a Creeper taking possession, and that the 
 birds had all been protected by the occupiers of the cottage. 
 
 The Creeper is resident and very hardy, accompanying in 
 
 If, 
 
 winter the parties of Tits in their excursions through the 
 woods. 
 
 SITTID-ffil. 
 
 NUTHATCH. 
 
 Sitta GOBsia. 
 
 A COMMON inhabitant of woods and orchards wherever there 
 is large timber, where it breeds in holes, reducing the open- 
 ing when needful, to its own size, by plastering with clay. 
 It will take freely to boxes put up for the purpose. In 
 March 1871, I placed some rustic nest-boxes in trees near 
 my house. The next week two were taken possession of by 
 as many pairs of Nuthatches, and in June, or the beginning 
 
NUTHATCH. _ 83 
 
 of July (I foolishly made no notes), on visiting one of the 
 boxes, I found only two young birds nearly ready to fly. I 
 took the box down, brought it into the house, and left it on 
 the hall-table with the doors shut, for about an hour. I had 
 not then seen or heard anything of the old birds. 
 
 I then started in my dogcart, with the box between my 
 feet to keep it steady, for Henfield, 4| miles distant. When 
 halfway there I saw a Nuthatch fly over the box close to my 
 knees, and it chirped to the young birds ; but I . did not 
 hea;r them answer, nor had I heard the young utter any note 
 at all. I delivered the box and birds to my sister, who put 
 them, box and all, into a cage under a verandah outside her 
 bedroom window. The next morning she saw an old Nut- 
 hatch feeding the young ones, and the day after there were 
 two old ones there, and these continued to visit the cage for 
 a week or two, sometimes in the verandah, sometimes in the 
 bedroom. The young birds became perfectly tame; but 
 some months afterwards (my sister being from home) one 
 was found dead, entangled between some wire and the bottom 
 of the cage. The gardener, thinking to please her, caught a 
 wild Nuthatch and put it into the cage, when it immediately 
 killed the remaining young one. 
 
 How the old birds found out that the young were in the 
 dogcart, after having been an hour shut up in my hall, has 
 always been a puzzle to me. I thought at first the rest of 
 the young had probably escaped up the tree, which was 
 covered with ivy ; if so, it is still more strange that the old 
 birds should have followed the others 4^ miles, and I think 
 it would be too much to suppose that the birds would main- 
 tain both portions of their family at so great a distance 
 apart. 
 
 In the month of September I had the pleasure of driving 
 my friend Mr. Harting to Henfield, and found that the old 
 birds still continued to feed the young, which were in a 
 
 g3 
 
84 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 large cage hung in the verandah. We watched for some 
 time behind some shrubs, and saw both old birds bring food 
 to the young in the cage. This somewhat curious circum- 
 stance is recorded in 'The Field' of October 4th, 1878. 
 When in confinement the Nuthatch is rather given to 
 killing small birds if put into the same cage. It is also 
 most pertinacious in its attempts to escape. 
 
 When a boy I have more than once caught it in a brick- 
 trap and, when left too long, found that it had ground the 
 bill off about half its length. It is always in motion, running 
 with equal facility in all directions, and is as much at home 
 on the under as on the upper surface of a bough, or climbing 
 upwards or downwards on the main stem. Its note is a 
 cheery, and remarkably clear whistle, extremely variable, and 
 often so powerful that it may be heard from a long distance. 
 It betakes itself in winter to the woods, and particularly to 
 those of the oak, in the crevices of the bark of which it 
 fixes the nut or seed which it wishes to crack, in the per- 
 formance of which operation, it appears to throw its whole 
 weight on its object, and on having extracted the kernel, it 
 often leaves the shell so firmly fixed that it remains for 
 months; and after having deliberately picked the kernel to 
 pieces, it flies off in search of some other tempting morsel, 
 such as the body of the common chafer, which is the 
 favourite food of the young. The nest is almost always 
 composed of dead leaves, particularly of the oak or beech, or, 
 where obtainable, the laminae of the inner bark of the Scotch 
 fir, among which the eggs may be often found scattered 
 about, so that on visiting it one would suppose that no eggs 
 had been laid ; but a day or two before the bird begins to 
 sit on them, they are carefully placed together. Six eggs, or 
 seven, are the usual number for the first nest, though on a 
 few occasions I have found eight. In two instances I have 
 seen this bird entering and leaving a hole in a stone wall in 
 
NUTHATCH.— GREAT TITMOUSE. 85 
 
 which it evidently was making its nest. The Nuthatch is 
 the only bird I have ever seen attempt, and succeed in, 
 carrying away two grains of maize at once ; of which, how- 
 ever, I do not see the advantage, as it invariably drops one 
 while picking the other to pieces. It is also very fond of 
 oats and fat, and I have watched it digging away at the 
 horseflesh which has been hung up for the dogs. It will 
 drive off any small bird which may attempt to share with it 
 either that, or anything which has been laid out to feed the 
 birds in winter. It is very amusing to watch its manceuvres 
 should one hang out a tallow candle near a window. It is 
 particularly fond of peas and maize, but the kernels of nuts, 
 and the stones of the yew-berry, and acorns, as well as 
 insects, of which it is constantly in search, form its favourite 
 food. 
 
 FAEID^. 
 
 GREAT TITMOUSE. 
 
 Parus major. 
 
 This species is very common in all the wooded parts of the 
 county. It is resident, and may be found in most of our 
 gardens and shrubberies. It feeds largely on insects, and is 
 also fond of flesh of any kind, as well as of various seeds, 
 which, if of any size, it holds with its foot on a branch and 
 picks to pieces, without fixing it in the manner of the Nut- 
 hatch. It is a powerful bird for its size, and will occasionally 
 kill other birds, and having done so, generally, in the first 
 place, picks out the brains*. It is particularly fond of the 
 
 * Perhaps only when in confinement. 
 
86 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 seed of the suuflowePj as well as of maize and oats, as are all 
 the true Parida which are found in this country. 
 
 Its note in spring is very variable, at one time resembling 
 the sharpening of a saw, while at another 'it may be ex- 
 pressed by the three words " Set your beans,''^ with a stress 
 on the first word. It builds sometimes in a hole in the 
 ground or close to it, in a stub * of underwood, or a hole in 
 a tree or wall. I have frequently seen it in the cistern of 
 an unused pump, or in a flower-pot, in one of which, in a 
 very open place, seven young birds were found perfectly 
 dead from the heat of the sun. When building in such 
 situations, it covers the whole of the base with a mass of 
 hair, wool, worsted, &c. felted together, and generally forms 
 the nest in one corner away from the centre. 
 
 BLUE TITMOUSE. 
 
 Parus cceruleus. 
 
 The Blue Titmouse is the commonest of the genus, fre- 
 quenting all parts, except the open heights, or the marshy 
 levels. It is very familiar and very bold, though not par- 
 ticularly pugnacious. It will, however, hiss violently should 
 a finger, or stick be introduced into its nesting-place. If 
 handled, it bites with such ferocity that, among the bird- 
 nesting boys, it has obtained the elegant title of " Billy 
 Biter." Its nest is placed in similar situations to that of 
 the Great Titmouse. There has been more than one in- 
 stance of its choosing a letter-box for this purpose. Mr. 
 Booth mentions that a pair had for several years made use 
 
 * Stub signifies in Sussex an old stump, which has been often cut 
 down, from which many new shoots have arisen. 
 
BLUE TITMOUSE.— COAL-TITMOUSE. 87 
 
 of a hole in a lamp-post in Montpellier Road, Brighton, and^ 
 not-withstanding the constant traffic, brought off their young 
 in safety. 
 
 It is largely represented when a number of small birds are 
 making their excursions together through the woods in 
 winter. In the spring it picks to pieces the green fruit- 
 buds, and is hated by the gardener, though probably it does 
 less damage than would have been done by the caterpillar 
 of which it is in search. 
 
 COAL-TITMOUSE. 
 
 Parus ater. 
 
 Though this species is by no means rare in the Weald, it is 
 far less abundant than either of the preceding, and in my 
 own garden I have not very often seen it, yet in July 1889 a 
 nearly fully fledged young one was found dead in a box I had 
 placed in a tree ; and in the winter of the same year two of 
 these birds were eating the seeds of an Arbor vita close to 
 my dining-room window, and pecking at some bacon which 
 I had hung up in it. I have seen it busily feeding on the 
 seeds of the cornflower {Centaurea cyanus). It is very 
 partial to fir-trees, and is certainly more common on the 
 sand than on the clay. I have never met with it in the 
 thickest parts of the forest, though I have occasionally seen 
 it on the outer trees. In the neighbourhood of Chichester 
 it is rather common, as also on the sands, and old fir-trees 
 of Parham. The favourite place for its nest is in the de- 
 serted hole of a mole, or a mouse, at the foot of a tree ; but 
 it sometimes places it in a hole in the trunk of a tree at 
 some distance from the ground. At Henfield, a pair brought 
 
88 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 up their young in a box over a verandah some fifteen feet in 
 height. Though insects are probably its principal food, I 
 have never seen or heard of its doing any mischief by 
 searching for them among fruit-buds. It feeds also on 
 various berries. Its note is difficult to describe and varies 
 considerably ; it is shriller than that of the other Titmice. 
 Moss, with short hair and wool, are felted together in the 
 structure of its nest. I have also found rabbit's fur, and 
 sometimes, but not always, quantities of feathers, whence, 
 in common with the Long-tailed Tit, it is often called the 
 Featherpoke. It is, however, more generally known as the 
 Ground Tit. Mr. JefEery mentions a nest at the bottom of 
 a post nearly two feet below the surface. 
 
 MAESH-TITMOUSE. 
 
 Parus palustris. 
 
 Why this species has been thus named I cannot tell, as it 
 does not by any means, if at all, affect marshy places ; and 
 although it is somewhat partial to the willow when in cat- 
 kin, and therefore attracting numerous insects, I find that 
 it frequents those species of Salix which grow on land which 
 is high and dry, quite as much as those by the river-side. 
 On the high ground in my own neighbourhood it is far 
 commoner than the Coal- Titmouse, and nearly as often met 
 with as its blue relative. Its food is the same as that of the 
 preceding species ; and it is very tame, as I can state from 
 my own observation, having often watched it picking to 
 pieces an oat, or a grain of maize, within a few feet of me. 
 It is not so usual a tenant of my boxes as the Great and the 
 Blue Titmouse, nesting among the thick stems of the under- 
 
MARSH-TITMOUSE.— LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. 89 
 
 wood close to the ground^ or in holes in stumps but little 
 above itj in which it places a neatly built nest on chips of 
 wood, composed of hair and fur, and generally lined with 
 down of the willow, or the catkin of the balsam poplar. 
 
 It has a lively note in the spring, but its commonest call 
 is well expressed in Yarrel^s ' British Birds ' (vol. i. p. 496) 
 by the syllables " peh ! peh ! " quickly repeated. 
 
 LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. 
 
 Acredula caudata. 
 
 Frequenting principally the woods, copses, and rough hedge- 
 rows in the enclosed portions of the county, this species is 
 not uncommonly met with, though it does not often visit 
 our shrubberies and gardens, except in the breeding-season. 
 During the rest of the year it roams about in little parties 
 of ten or a dozen, flitting through the underwoods, and 
 perching on them, in every possible position, as often as not 
 head downwards, and uttering a constant chirping note as 
 if to keep the little band together, meantime progressing 
 steadily through the woods and copses, searching for insects, 
 which seem to be its only food. 
 
 Its well known and very remarkable nest is generally 
 placed in a thick bush, and is composed externally of lichens 
 firmly woven into a compact mass with spiders' webs, most 
 artfully blended with the colour of its surroundings, and 
 lined with a great profusion of feathers. It is, however, 
 not unfrequently built at the divarication of two nearly 
 parallel lichen-covered stems of a tree, and sometimes as 
 high as twenty or thirty feet from the ground, and so con- 
 cealed that it is hardly likely to be discovered unless the 
 
90 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 bird betrays it on returning to or leaving the nest. It 
 occasionally lays as many as fifteen or even twenty eggs. 
 
 Tbe male and female both roost in the nest. Its little 
 parties generally keep to themselves through the summer, 
 but in winter it often associates with the other insect-feeding 
 birds. 
 
 PANURIDJS. 
 
 BEAEDED TITMOUSE. 
 
 Panurus iiarmicus. 
 
 -This species is entirely confined to reedy and marshy places. 
 In his ' Ornithological Dictionary,' published in 1803, 
 -Montagu writes that he had met with a party of five, 
 .doubtless a brood of the year, near Winchelsea, among the 
 reeds close to the sea-shore. One of them, which he pro- 
 cured, was in its nestling feathers, but though he took pains 
 to find the nest he was unsuccessful. I have received it 
 from Amberley j and in September 1844 I saw two females 
 which, as well as several others of both sexes, had been shot 
 there, and it has since been found breeding there. It is, 
 however, much less common than it formerly was, in con- 
 sequence of the very large tract of marsh, known as the 
 Wildbrook, having been drained. It also bred in some reedy 
 ditches near Lancing until disturbed by the railway. 
 
 Mr. Knox mentions a pair obtained near Amberley, and 
 another pair at Pishbourne, near Chichester, but gives no 
 date. Mr. Jeffery states that it is not now to be found 
 there, the reeds being also gone. 
 
WAXWING. 91 
 
 AMFELID^. 
 
 WAXWING. 
 
 Ampelis garrulus. 
 
 A RARE visitant, chiefly in severe winters. On January 12thj 
 1850, a beautiful male was shot in West Grinstead Parkj 
 and brought to Sir W. W. Burrell ; another was shot in a 
 brickfield near Horsham, apparently a female or immature 
 bird. I have one in my own collection which was shot near 
 Hastings. 
 
 Mr. Dennis, writing to me on July 4th, 1850, mentions 
 that one was seen at Denton during last January, feeding on 
 the berries of a Pyracanthus roughly trained against a house, 
 and that he was informed that one had been shot near New- 
 haven, while feeding on a similar shrub in a cottage garden ; 
 that he saw one at Lewes, which was killed at Tarring 
 Neville, and two more obtained near Hailsham. I have also 
 seen two which were shot in Ashburnham Park, and one at 
 Albourne ; all three in 1 844. 
 
 Mr. Knox mentions two which were shot in a garden at 
 Newtimber, feeding on hawthorn berries, that one was killed 
 atBeeding, and another near Shoreham. In the 'Zoologist' 
 (p. 2768) a specimen, shot at Piddinghoe, is recorded by 
 Mr. Ellman. There appears to have been a considerable 
 incursion of these birds throughout England in that year, 
 1850 {op. cit. p. 6605). 
 
 Both nest and eggs were wholly unknown, until, in June 
 1856, they were discovered by one Ludwig Matthias Knob- 
 lock, Mr. WoUey's most trusted follower, at Sadio, on the 
 Kittila Eiver, in Kemi Lapmark (see Yarrell's 'British 
 Birds,' vol. i. p. 539). 
 
92 THE BIBD8 OF SUSSEX. 
 
 MOTACILLID^. 
 
 PIED WAGTAIL. 
 
 Motacilla luguhris. 
 
 Enormous numbers of this species make their appearance 
 on the coast throughout the whole of March, and smaller 
 parties continue to arrive till the middle of April. In March 
 I have seen the beachj between Brighton and Shoreham, 
 covered with them in the early mornings, though a few 
 hours after, very few, or none, will be met with, as they pro- 
 ceed at once to their inland quarters, where they become 
 common throughout the county, and form one of the most 
 sprightly and elegant ornaments of our lawns, gardens, and 
 fields, where the new arrivals are readily distinguished from 
 those which have remained with us during the winter, by the 
 purity and brightness of their plumage. This Wagtail, soon 
 after dispersing through the county, begins to build its nest, 
 choosing some place in the neighbourhood of buildings, such 
 as the thatch of a haystack, a hole in an ornamental stump 
 in a garden, or in a wall or bank, or perhaps placing it on 
 the larger ends of sticks in a fagot-stack, and constructs it 
 of moss and fine roots, lining it with hair. 
 
 After it has reared its young, it betakes itself with them 
 to the meadows, especially delighting in those which have 
 been recently flooded, where no doubt it finds abundance of 
 its insect food and small freshwater mollusks. In such 
 places, I think I may say that I have seen them in hundreds, 
 and at this period the young have the part of the forehead 
 and cheeks which, in mature specimens, is white, of a deli- 
 cate lemon-yellow. All the Wagtails either walk or run, and 
 do not hop. 
 
PIED WAGTAIL.— WHITE WAGTAIL. 93 
 
 In August and September its numbers on the coast greatly 
 increase by the arrival of flocks, while by the end of October 
 the greater part of them have crossed the sea. The birds 
 which remain during the winter flock together, often follow- 
 ing the plough, or seeking their food in the sheep-fold, 
 especially where the turnips have been half eaten and left 
 in the ground, probably finding in their substance the larvae 
 of some insect or other. The flight of this bird is very un- 
 dulating, and it keeps up a constant dissyllabic note, whether 
 alone or in companies, while on the wing. It is commonly 
 known in Sussex by the name of "Dishwasher." 
 
 WHITE WAGTAIL. 
 
 Motacilla alba. 
 
 This species occurs on the coast as regularly as the Pied 
 Wagtail, but I can find no earlier mention of it in Sussex, 
 than a note of my own (' Zoologist,' p. 3908) for April 21st, 
 1853, on which day I carefully examined five specimens, 
 four of which, one being a female, had been shot between 
 Shoreham and Worthing, and the fifth at Hove, all in the 
 possession of Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton. The female con- 
 tained eggs not larger than a pin's head. I exhibited these 
 birds at the Anniversary Meeting of the Linnean Society, 
 May 24th, 1853. April 6th, 1854, a male and female were 
 shot at Hove, near Brighton, close to some ploughed land, 
 though they are said not to follow the plough like M. %«- 
 Iris, which led the editor of Yarrell's ' British Birds '' (vol. i. 
 p. 550) to suggest that the food of this species may be dif- 
 ferent. Mr. Swaysland informed me that they were wilder, 
 and had a hoarser note. The male had a singular malforma- 
 tion, there being on one foot two perfectly formed hind toes. 
 
94 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 On the 8th of the same month Mr. Pratt brought me a 
 female, and on examination we found that the eggs were 
 only just formedj whereas in M. lugubris they were larger 
 than peas, so that it is probably a late breeder. 
 
 On further knowledge of this species, I conclude that it is 
 seldom or never found on the north side of the Downs, 
 though it frequents the coast from east to west. In its 
 general habits, as far as known, it seems to resemble the 
 common Pied species. I am not aware that it has ever 
 nested in the county. Mr. Booth remarks, in his ' Rough 
 Notes,' vol. i. : — " I have never met with the White Wag- 
 tail during the winter, and, according to my own observa- 
 tions, those that visit the British Islands in the spring are 
 considerably later in making their appearance on our shores 
 than the Pied Wag-tails that pass the winter on the continent. 
 I cannot record a single .instance where this species has been 
 observed before the Second week in April. l)uring fine 
 weather at that period these birds may commonly be noticed 
 in Sussex, within a short distance of the sea- coast. As a 
 rule they appear to be making their way from West to East, 
 and seldom remain in the locality for any length of time. 
 I have watched them seeking for food along the banks round 
 brackish pools, as well as on the muds of Shoreham harbour. 
 A few were also occasionally remarked frequenting the salt- 
 marshes between Lancing and Worthing. Further east I 
 found a single specimen feeding along the muddy shores of 
 a dyke in the level near St. Leonards-on-Sea, in the first 
 week in May. When disturbed the bird took a short flight, 
 but after alighting two or three times on the floating weed 
 and searching closely over the surface, it rose in the air and 
 made a straight course along the shore towards the east. 
 The water in the dyke was partly salt, and the tangled 
 weed that grew in profusion contained a number of minute 
 shells." 
 
GREY WAGTAIL. 95 
 
 GEEY WAGTAIL. 
 
 Motacilla sulphurea. 
 
 This is an autumn and winter visitant to this county, dis- 
 appearing about the middle of March, very few remain- 
 ing to breed, the greater number leaving in April, when it 
 is assuming its breeding-plumage, and passing to the north 
 or westj returning late in August or early in September, 
 generally in little family parties, when the main body cross 
 the sea, though a few remain during the winter. From its 
 partiality to rapid, clear, and rocky streams, Sussex is little 
 adapted to its habits. It delights in wild secluded spots, 
 and never frequents ploughed or grass lands unless they are 
 water-meadows. 
 
 As it cannot be called a common bird, I think it worth 
 while to mention the few specimens which have fallen under 
 my own observation. The first notice I have is, that from 
 the 11th of November, 1840, one frequented my father's 
 garden at Henfield for a few days, running about the lawn 
 in pursuit, of insects, jumping up at them and taking them 
 on the wing, in the manner of the Pied Wagtail. Ou the 
 8th of May, 1841, I saw two which had been shot near Firle 
 in nearly full summer plumage, and two others obtained in 
 the same neighbourhood about the same time. In March 
 1844 one appeared for a few days, at a spring in a tanyard 
 at Henfield. On the 10th of March in the same year I saw, 
 at a birdstufEer's at Lewes, two more which had been shot 
 on the level near that town, also in the same plumage. In 
 May 1845, 1 observed a male in full breeding-dress, at a little 
 runlet of water by the roadside at Ashington. On two or 
 three occasions a single bird has appeared at my own house 
 at Cowfold, running about on a flat-roofed verandah^ and 
 
96 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 jumping at the flies crawling on the inner side of the window 
 panes. The note is rather loud and harsh, but cheerful. 
 
 The Grey Wagtail generally places its nest in a hole in 
 the bank of a rocky stream, or a wall, or perhaps in a heap 
 of stones, and it is very similar to that of the Pied Wagtail. 
 
 Mr. Booth, in his ' Rough J^otes,' remarks that in the 
 autumn, winter, and early spring a few remain in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Brighton, resorting to open drains or pools, and 
 in some instances visiting the gardens adjoining the town. 
 Mr. Jeffery, in his P. N., states that he found a nest on the 
 1st of June, 1867, with the young nearly ready to fly, at 
 Burton, near Petworth, 
 
 BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL. 
 
 Motacilla flava. 
 
 This species is a spring visitant, and by no means abundant. 
 In my own collection I have a female shot by Mr. EUman, 
 May 5th, 1851, between Eastbourne and Pevensey, and a 
 male, shot at Hove, April 18th, 1866, as well as a female 
 obtained about the same time near Eastbourne. In 1859 
 I saw, at Mr. Pratt's, two male specimens which had been 
 shot on the 25th and 27th of April respectively at Hove. 
 
 The Blue-headed Wagtail is said to nest on the ground in 
 corn-fields and meadows. Mr. Booth says that the bird may 
 be met with every spring, along the coast of Sussex ; that 
 he is well acquainted with certain spots about a mile from 
 the sea-coast, between Brighton and Shoreham, where a pair 
 or two may be found at almost any time during May ; and 
 that he has little doubt that it breeds not uncommonly 
 within a few miles of Brighton. He observes that he has 
 
BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL.— YELLOW WAGTAIL. 97 
 
 frequently noticed males in the vicinity of two or three of 
 the sheep-ponds scattered over the Downs^ at seasons when 
 it was most probable that the female was sitting close at 
 hand, and he figures a male and female obtained near 
 Brighton in April 1874. In the ' Zoologist ' (p. 6606) Mr. 
 Wilson mentions a beautiful male taken near Worthing in 
 April 1855; and a fine adult male shot near Brighton, by Mr, 
 Pratt, is recorded (p. 7709) under date April 1861, while 
 another (p. 263, s. s.) is noted, caught in a net in April 
 1871, and taken to him. Again, in April 1888 one was taken 
 alive on the Downs (vol. for 1888, p. 226) . 
 
 YELLOW WAGTAIL. 
 
 Motacilla rail. 
 
 This Wagtail, like the last species, arrives on our coast in 
 April, and though a few breed with us, the main body, after 
 remaining a very short time, leave the county for that pur- 
 pose, and reappear late in July or early in August. 
 
 In a record of my ovt'n, from 1840 to 1876, and in another, 
 kindly lent me by Mr. Jeffery, from 1860 to 1888, the earliest 
 notice of its appearance is April 7th, and the first mention 
 of its return is July 6th. It then remains with us tiU Sep- 
 tember, during which month it leaves this country altogether 
 for the winter. On its first arrival it spreads over the 
 ploughed land and meadows, sometimes in considerable 
 flocks, but it is rarely seen more than a few miles from the 
 coast. 
 
 It is partial to the sheep-folds on the Downs, and accom- 
 panies cattle in the fields, for the sake of the insects they 
 disturb while feeding on the grass. 
 
98 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 The nest may occasionally be found by the side of a ditch, 
 or in a tuft of rushes on the levels, but more frequently in 
 the corn-fields, where it places it in an open furrow, or any 
 little depression in the ground, and the few I have seen have 
 been constructed of dead grass and small roots. It is stated, 
 however, in Yarrell's 'British Birds' (vol. i. p. 565) that 
 Mr. Hewitson mentions a nest composed of green moss and 
 grass, lined with rabbits' fur. In the autumn, it greatly 
 frequents the open grass-fields. I have, at this season, often 
 seen, in the Heufield levels, very large flocks of mingled old 
 and young, busily engaged in picking up their food in tlie 
 large drifts of debris left on the subsidence of a flood. I 
 have found in their interior considerable quantities of small 
 fresh^vater and land shells, of which such a locality affords 
 a large supply. I have no recollection of ever having heard 
 this Wagtail sing, but, respecting its note,^t is stated in 
 Yarrell's ' British Birds ' (vol. i. p. 566) :— " The call of this 
 bird is more shrill than that of the Pied Wagtail, but less 
 so than that of the Grey species, and consists of two notes 
 repeated in succession, the second of which, in its musical 
 scale, is a whole note lower than the first. The song of the 
 cock is lively, but short, and not often uttered." 
 
 The earliest plumage of this bird is totally different from 
 that of the adult, and is admirably represented by Mr, Booth 
 in his ' Rough Notes.' 
 
 In Sussex it is generally known as the " Barley-Bird," 
 probably because it arrives about the time of the spring 
 sowing of that grain. 
 
THEE-PIMT. 99 
 
 TREE-PIPIT. 
 
 Anthus trivialis. 
 
 This species visits us regularly early in April, many staying 
 to breed with us. though still larger numbers pass on into 
 other counties, reappearing in little parties in August, and 
 departing for the continent in September. It spreads itself 
 in pairs over the wooded and enclosed districts where there 
 are trees. 
 
 Its song is strong, lively, and well sustained, and is mostly 
 uttered while rising from the highest point of a bush or tree 
 some thirty or forty feet in the air; after bovering for^a few 
 moments it continues to sing as it descends with quivering 
 wings and outspread tail to the spot from which it had origi- 
 nally started. Though most authors state that it breeds on 
 the ground, by far the greater number of the many nests I 
 have known have been placed in thick bushes, generally 
 brambles, some three or four feet from it. The nest is com- 
 posed of green moss and dead grass, and lined with hair. 
 
 Its eggs vary in colour to a very remarkable extent, some 
 being very similar to those of the Blackcap, others of a dark 
 purple with still darker veins and streaks, and I have more 
 than once found them of a plain blood-red unmixed with 
 streaks, spots, or blotches. It is very seldom seen on the 
 ground, and I am not aware of any country name for it, but 
 the bird-fanciers call it the " Singing Titlark." 
 
 B 2 
 
100 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 MEADOW-PIPIT. 
 
 Anthus pratensis. 
 
 The Meadow-Pipit remains with us all the year round, though 
 great additions arrive in April, and it may then he met with 
 in all unenclosed parts of the county, frequenting as well the 
 Downs, the dry open heaths and commons, as the marshy 
 meadows of the levels bordering our rivers. After spreading 
 through the country in suitable spots, generally in pairs, it 
 reappears in large flocks on the coast in August, and by the 
 end of September most of them have departed for the winter. 
 It builds on the ground, sometimes among the corn, a foot 
 or two within the edge of a corn-field, in a farrow, or any 
 little depression on the surface, often on the open down or 
 common, placing it under the shelter of a tuft of grass or 
 other herbage.. The nest is composed of coarse and fine 
 grass, lined with hair and fibrous roots. The Cuckoo is very 
 partial to it for the nursery of its tyrannical bantling. It is 
 generally known as the Titlark. A very long and interesting 
 account of the migration of the Meadow-Pipit may be found 
 in Mr. Booth's ' Rough Notes.' 
 
 There is a very small variety of the Meadow-Pipit, if in- 
 deed it be not another species, found in various places in the 
 county. I have myself particularly observed it on the ex- 
 tensive tract of old sea-beach between the harbour and the 
 sea at Shoreham, and from that very place a clutch of four 
 eggs, on which the bird was sitting, though they were not 
 incubated, was taken by Mr. Gorham, the Rector of Shipley, 
 on May 17th, 1880. Three of these he kindly gave to me ; 
 they were all four similar in colour and size ; the measure- 
 ments of my three were H by ^ of an inch. Now the average 
 
MEADOW-PIPIT.— RED-THROATED PIPIT. 101 
 
 dimensions of a dozen of the ordinary Meadow-Pipits' are ^ 
 by ^. I never remember finding a whole clutch of the eggs 
 of any other bird in which all were of an abnormal size. 
 
 I went to the spot a few days after to see what were the 
 materials of the nestj but it had been pulled out and blown 
 away by the wind. If it be dwarf, it is the only wild bird I 
 have ever met with in that state. 
 
 In the ' Zoologist/ p. 1561 (s. s.) is the following notice 
 by Mr. Wonfor : — " A very minute specimen, in perfect 
 plumage, was obtained on November 9th near Cliftonville, 
 Brighton, and was taken to Swaysland. Prom its size and 
 general appearance, thinking it a new species, he sent it to 
 Mr. Sclater, who pronounced it a dwarf. It measures five 
 inches and one eighth from beak to tail." 
 
 The ordinary note of the Meadow-Pipit is " Tit, tit, tit," 
 uttered while flitting from place to place. During the breed- 
 ing season it has a pleasant song, low and soft, which it 
 utters on the wing, rising some thirty feet in the air, and 
 descending, with quivering wings and tail fully spread, to the 
 ground. 
 
 RED-THEOATED PIPIT. 
 
 Anfhus cervinus. 
 
 This beautiful species, which had, for a long while, been con- 
 founded with the preceding, was included as a " British Bird" 
 by Mr. Harting and Mr. Gould on evidence that to many 
 ornithologists seemed inconclusive, though they fully ad- 
 mitted that it was one which, sooner or later, was likely to 
 appear in Britain. The first example about which no doubt 
 could exist was brought to Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton, on 
 March 13th, 1884, and on the next day was seen in the flesh 
 
102 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 by Mr. J. H. Gurney, Jun., who recorded the fact in the 
 'Zoologist' of that year (p. 192). The specimen was after- 
 wards submitted to Mr. R. B. Sharpe, who exhibited it at 
 the meeting of the Zoological Society of London on April 1st 
 (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1884, p. 206) . It was caught near Brighton^ 
 and is now in the collection of Mr. Monk, of Lewes. 
 
 A long account of the habits of this species, as ob- 
 served on the shores of the Varanger Fjord in North- 
 eastern Norway, by the late Mr. Wolley and Professor New- 
 ton, in the summer of 1855, will be found in Bree's 
 ' Birds of Europe,' whence it has been reproduced in Mr. 
 Dresser's well-known work. This species breeds in a some- 
 what restricted area in the extreme North of Europe, and 
 thence to the eastward across Asia. In winter it is found on 
 the shores of the Mediterranean, and especially in Egypt. 
 The nest, which is placed on the ground among coarse herb- 
 age, is described as being simply built of dry bents without 
 any lining of feathers or hair. 
 
 WATEE-PIPIT. 
 
 AntJim spipbTeita. 
 
 The first notice of this species being taken in Sussex is that 
 of Mr. John Pratt, of Brighton, who, in the 'Zoologist' 
 (pp. 9279-80), states that in 1864 an example had been killed 
 near Worthing, and another on the beach at Brighton, and 
 tha;t these two specimens were determined by Mr. Gould to 
 be Anthus spipoletta of continental authors. They are also 
 recorded in the ' Ibis ' for 1865 (p. .114). That obtained at 
 Brighton passed into the collection of the late Bishop Wil- 
 berforce, and Mr. Boynton, of. Ulrotae Grange, in Yorkshire, 
 purchased the other, and submitted it to the inspection of 
 
WATER-PIPIT. -ROCK-PIPIT. 103 
 
 Professor Newton. I have a specimen in my own collection 
 which was obtained in August 1868, and another in March 
 1869, both shot at Shoreham. 
 
 The most prominent distinction between this and the Rock- 
 Pipit is that the outer tail-feather has the outer web and the 
 distal part of the inner web on each side white, as is also the 
 chin. All those which have been met with have occurred in 
 early spring, and been found around the little pools which 
 have been left by the tide. Mr. Rowley states " that all have 
 taken their departure by the first week in April, and that 
 they return again in August/' which rather tends to the con- 
 clusion that they retire inland to breed. I have, however, 
 never heard of the nest being met with in England. 
 
 ROCK-PIPIT. 
 
 Anthus obscurus. 
 
 The Rock-Pipit is a permanent resident, though it receives a 
 great addition to its numbers in the spring. It is for the" 
 greater part of the year entirely confined to the coast, and 
 especially to the rocky parts of it, where it may constantly be 
 seen flitting from rock to rock, or searching for small crus- 
 taceans and insects among the seaweed on the beach, and 
 occasionally wading in the shallow water. It may, however, 
 be frequently met with on the muddy flats and shores. In 
 the breeding season the call-note and song are very like those 
 of the Meadow-Pipit, but somewhat harsher. At that time 
 of the year it sings on the wing and with similar actions, and 
 is confined to the cliffs, where it builds in the crevices or 
 little hollows between the rocks or behind a tuft of the sea- 
 pink or other herbage, constructing its nest of dry grass and 
 seaweed, with which it is generally lined, with the addition 
 
104 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 perhaps of a little hair. I once found a very singular nest 
 of this bird near Eastbourne. It was entirely composed ex- 
 ternally of fine seaweed mixed with the dried egg-capsules of 
 the common whelk^ and lined with hair. Mr. Jeffery states 
 (Zoologist, p. 1034) that he shot two Rock-Pipits on a 
 small island in Chichester Harbour, and was surprised to 
 find in the stomach of both bones and other remnants of small 
 fishes. It often happens that small gobies and other fish 
 are left by the receding tide to die and dry up, and in this 
 case they would become an easy prey to the Pipits, otherwise 
 it is diflScult to imagine in what way their capture could he 
 eflfected by these small birds. In addition to these fishy 
 remains were small seeds of several kinds. 
 
 Mr. Booth states, in his ' Rough Notes,' that he has occa- 
 sionally observed a few of these Pipits along the flat portions 
 of the Sussex coast from Pagham to Brighton. The muddy 
 pools of brackish water inside of the shingle banks are their 
 favourite haunts. The chalk cliffs between Brighton and 
 Eastbourne, and the neighbourhood of Fairlight and Hastings, 
 are resorted to during the breeding season. Pevensey and 
 Winchelsea levels are visited about the same time, and those 
 of the flat districts to the west of Brighton, where they feed 
 only by those pools which are impregnated with salt. The 
 ten specimens mentioned in the 'Zoologist,' p. 793, s. s., as 
 having been taken near Brighton between the 16th and 20th 
 of March, 1869, and at first mistaken for Anthus spipoletta, 
 proved, on further investigation, to be the Scandinavian form 
 of the Rock- Pipit. 
 
TAWNY PIPIT. 105 
 
 TAWNY PIPIT. 
 
 Anthus campestris. 
 
 This Pipit was first noticed as Britisli hy Mr. Rowley^ and 
 is a rare straggler to this county^ where, curiously enough, 
 almost all the recorded specimens have been met with in the 
 neighbourhood of Brighton. The first was taken at Shore- 
 ham Harbour on the 15th of August, 1858, and was in the 
 collection of the late Mr. Collins, of Aldmouth, until 1862, 
 when another Pipit having been shot at Eottingdean on the 
 34th of September, Mr. Rowley, on careful examination of 
 it in the flesh, discovered that both this and the former were 
 Anthus campestris, and records them in the ' Ibis ' for 1863. 
 I have in my own collection three specimens, all taien near 
 Brighton. Mr. J. H. Gurney, Jun., tells me that his father 
 had one which was shot at Rottingdean October 3rd, 1886, 
 in very immature plumage. 
 
 Referring to the ' Zoologist,^ we find (p. 9337) a male 
 taken in a clap-net near Brighton, September 30th, 1864, 
 which was seen alive by Mr. Rowley, and passed into the 
 collection of Mr. Monk. At p. 1918, s. s., two more are 
 mentioned by Mr. Wonfor as shot at Rottingdean, Septem- 
 ber 6th, 1869. Another immature bird is mentioned by Mr. 
 Rowley, obtained near Rottingdean September 39th, 1870 
 (p. 2383), also in the possession of Mr. Monk. And in 
 October 1873 again another male example was killed near 
 Brighton (p. 3833), which was purchased by Sir John Crewe. 
 At p. 4456, s. s., Mr. Clark Kennedy mentions that one was 
 caught in a clap-net at Eastbourne, November 8th, 1874 ; and 
 at p. 4694, s. s., Mr/Swaysland records the purchase of a 
 young male, taken in the same way, at the east end of 
 Brighton. At p. 399, volume for 1877, Mr. Bond states 
 
106 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 that he had a Tawny Pipit which had been taken in Octoher 
 1875j a young bird^ as shown by the lightness of its feathers. 
 According to p. 343^ s. s., 1877, another immature specimen 
 was shot at Brighton on the 39th of September, and taken to 
 Mr. Pratt. Three were caught on the Downs north-east of 
 Brighton, in October 1886 (p. 490)*- On August 35th, 1887, 
 a male was taken in a net close to the Ditchliug Road, 
 Brighton (p. 493). 
 
 As to its habits as a Sussex bird, nothing has been re- 
 corded. According to authors they are, on the continent, 
 much the same as those of the other Pipits, as is also the 
 manner of its nesting, but it shows a preference for dry 
 and especially sandy places. 
 
 RICHAED'S PIPIT. * 
 
 Anthus richardi. 
 
 An irregular spring and autumn visitant to the coast and 
 neighbouring Downs, almost all those which have occurred 
 having been taken near Brighton. 
 
 I have in my own collection one in summer plumage, 
 taken on March 17thj 1869, on Clayton Hill, and two others 
 also obtained near Brighton, but I cannot now give the 
 dates. 
 
 The earliest mention of its appearance in the county is 
 that of Mr. Rowley, who recorded it in the 'Zoologist,' 
 p. 9466, and says that he received a living specimen from 
 Mr. Swaysland on January 30th, 1865. It had been taken 
 in a clap-net at a place called Toad's Hole, on the Downs, 
 near Hangleton, Portslade, about 1^ mile from the sea. The 
 
 * One of these was probatly Mr. Qurney's specimen. 
 
RICHARD'S PIPIT.— SHORE-LARK. 107 
 
 man who' caught it said that he was struck by its loud 
 notCj and drove it about nearly two days before he could 
 get it into the net, in which there was nothing to attract 
 it. In 1867 Mr. Monk obtained a specimeu, taken near 
 Brighton, October 9th (Zoologist, p. 1017); and in the 
 volume for 1868 (p. 1478, s. s.) Mr. Rowley states that one 
 was taken near Brighton October 5th, and that it was moult- 
 ing all over, the tail being only half-grown, and remarks that 
 it was very late, all the other Pipits moulting in August. 
 
 Mr. Wonfor, in the 'Zoologist' for 1869 (p. 1513, s.s.), 
 states that four specimens had been shot within the last 
 month (November), and in 1870, at p. 1984 of the same 
 journal, Mr. Bond, giving a list of rare birds he had seen at 
 Mr. Pratt's, states thus : — " I have seen in all eleven speci- 
 mens of the Richard's Pipit, the first taken in the first week 
 in September, and the last on the 6th of December of the 
 present year." 
 
 ALAUDID^. 
 
 SHORE-LAEK. 
 
 Otocorys alpestris. 
 
 Since the first British specimen obtained at Sherringham, 
 in Norfolk, in 1830, the Shore-Lark has been found, some- 
 times in large flocks, on various parts of the coast, extending 
 as far westward as Weymouth, where, about the 30th of 
 November 1869, I saw eleven in the flesh, which had been 
 shot on Lodswell Marsh, of which seven were females. The 
 notices of the occurrences of this bird in Sussex are not, 
 however, very numerous. I have a specimen in my own 
 collection, killed in March 18/0, at Rottingdean. In Yar- 
 
108 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 rell's ' British Birds ' (vol. i. p. 606) it is stated that three 
 out of a flock of five were captured alive near Brighton in 
 November 1861. Mr. Booth, in his 'Rough Notes/ makes 
 the following remarks : — " During severe weather in Sussex, 
 I often remarked a fresh-captured bird or two of this 
 species in the store cages of the professional bird-catchers, 
 when meeting with them along the Downs near the coast. 
 But one small flock of three or four individuals has (with 
 the exception of the above-mentioned captives) come under 
 my notice in this county ; these birds were on the shingle- 
 banks, between Shoreham and Lancing." The following 
 occurrences are taken from the ' Zoologist ' : — On March 
 the 1st 1870, " a fine specimen of the Shore-Lark was taken, 
 at night, in a lark-net, on the Hodden Farm, near New- 
 haven. — ^T. S. Monk" (p. 3140). Mr. Rowley remarks 
 (p. 2407) that two specimens were obtained near Brighton 
 on the 3nd of November, 1870. Mr. Aplin states (p. 350), 
 1885 — " In April last I received a male Shore-Lark, in the 
 flesh, which was shot on the 22nd on the coast, near Hastings. 
 Its stomach contained numerous small white worms, and a 
 small coleopterous larva, also a quantity of grit." The Shore- 
 Lark frequents the beach, and the neighbouring stubbles, 
 or the open bushy lands near the sea, in little flocks. Its 
 manners and flight much resemble those of the Sky-Lark. It 
 has never been known to breed in this country, nor nearer 
 than the high mountain-pastures of Scandinavia, whence no 
 doubt come the birds which visit us in winter. But it is also 
 common in many parts of America, and I have eggs irom 
 Labrador. 
 
SKy-LARK. 109 
 
 SKY-LAEK. 
 Alauda arvensis. 
 
 This, by pre-eminenoe the Lark, is generally diffused over 
 the open country, but avoids the woods. It is a resident, but, 
 except in the breeding season, very much on the move, and 
 often gathers in enormous flocks, especially in hard winter, 
 when it migrates from place to place, according to the 
 weather. Its line of migration is most frequently from East 
 to West. Immense multitudes cross the sea, and immbers 
 are frequently found to strike the lanterns of the lighthouses. 
 I have often seen them in the neighbourhood of the coast 
 passing over, and flying very swiftly for hours together. 
 
 The delightful song has been the theme of the poets of all 
 ages, and is far more cheerful from the celestial height, than 
 that of the equally celebrated Nightingale from its legendary 
 thorn. It feeds on seeds of weeds and the corn which it finds 
 scattered after harvest, as well as on insects, and in hard 
 weather often frequents the sheep-folds, probably finding 
 larvae among the decaying roots of the turnips. It is found 
 still more abundantly on the open stubbles, where it roosts, 
 when many hundreds, I may say thousands, are taken in 
 nets, and sold to the poulterers. Enormous numbers are 
 annually taken by the call-bird and clap-net, besides those 
 that are shot as they hover — an easy mark for the gun — -over 
 an instrument of wood, into which are fixed bits of looking- 
 glass, and, by a string properly adjusted, made to spin round 
 rapidly, this device proving a never-failing and fatal attrac- 
 tion to the birds. 
 
 The nest is generally placed on the ground in an open 
 meadow, or corn-field, in any slight depression, and very 
 commonly in a round hole in the turf, formed by the bird 
 itself, and is composed of grass, and lined with fine roots 
 
110 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 and hair. It is said to remove its young, or its eggs, if dis- 
 turbed. Mr. Blyth (Nat. 1837, p. 103) describes a case of 
 which he was told, wherein the upper part of a Sky-Lark's 
 nest had been shaved off by the scythe, and the surround- 
 ing grass levelled by the mowers, without the female, which 
 was sitting on her young, flying away. She was found about 
 an hour afterwards to have constructed a dome of dry grass 
 over the nest during the interval. The eggs are not subject 
 to much variation, but a few years ago I found a nest in the 
 vicarage meadow at Cowfold, in which all the five eggs were 
 pure white, and perfectly fresh and good. 
 
 Although I have not hitherto made any remarks on 
 varieties, I may say that in February 1890, I was shown by 
 Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, a Sky-Lark in such remarkable 
 plumage that I think it is worthy of mention. The whole 
 of the head and the upper part of the body are black, with 
 the edges of the feathers almost imperceptibly tinged with 
 brown. The under parts of the body, and the axillary 
 plumes, the scapulars, and about half an inch of the second- 
 aries, as also the tips of the primaries, and the final half of 
 the tail, are black. The middle of the secondaries, forming 
 a distinct bar across the wings, and about half the primaries, 
 are white, the latter being slightly pencilled with black on 
 the upper surface, while on the under side they are pure 
 white. This specimen was originally, when first caged, an 
 ordinary Sky-Lark, and assumed this plumage. 
 
 WOOD-LARK. 
 
 Alauda arhorea. 
 
 The Wood-Lark is a resident, but very local, and by no 
 means common. When it occurs at all it is on the edges 
 
WOOD-LARK.— CRESTED LARK. Ill 
 
 of those woods which are well furuished with timber^ heing 
 seldom or never found far from the outside. It is a beauti- 
 ful songster, and utters its delightfully liquid, flute-like 
 notes in the evenings of spring, summer, and autumn, 
 generally while suspended in the air at a very considerable 
 height, and sometimes continuing it intermittently for an 
 hour together. Some time ago, this bird might be heard 
 from my lawn at Cowfold every fairly warm evening, trill- 
 ing its lovely notes, often far into the night ; but I Lave not 
 heard it for many years, nor met with it, in my own neigh- 
 bourhood. In fact, the last time I saw it at all in Sussex 
 was when shooting in the parish of Cowfold in January 1881. 
 I was surprised to find it in little flocks of twenty or thirty, 
 in the stubble-fields, just before a heavy snow, which covered 
 the ground deeply for many days, They seem to have 
 migrated in a body, and I have never seen or heard of one 
 in the neighbourhood since. At this time they assembled 
 together all along the coast, wherever the ground was free 
 from snow, and many dozens fell victims to the bird-catchers. 
 Except on such occasions, they are found in pairs, and never 
 in large numbers in any one district. It chooses a grassy 
 spot, on the outside of a wood or copse, for its nest, con- 
 structing it of dry grass, mixed with a little moss, and lining 
 it also with fine grass, without hair or feathers. Although it 
 takes a few small seeds, insects form its principal food, and 
 it is very partial to grasshoppers. 
 
 CRESTED LAEK. 
 
 Alauda cristata. 
 
 Although this species is not uncommon in Normandy and 
 in some parts of Holland, its occurrences in England have 
 
112 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 been few and far between. Its first appearance in Sussex is 
 that of an example in the late Mr. Bond's collection, which 
 was procured at LittlehamptoDj and from which the figure 
 in Yarrell's 'British Birds' was taken; it is now in the 
 possession of Mr. Whitaker, of Rainworth Lodge, Notts. 
 Another was procured near Shoreham, by a bird-catcher, oa 
 the 30th of October, 1863, and seen alive the same day by 
 Mr. Rowley, as is recorded in the ' Ibis,' 1864, p. 224. This 
 example is now in the collection of Mr. Monk. Besides 
 these, I have in my own collection another specimen, which 
 was captured by a bird-catcher at Portslade, near Brighton, 
 October 10th, 1881, and taken to Mr. Pratt's shop in that 
 town; this proved on dissection to be an adult male. I 
 recorded it in the ' Zoologist,' p. 494, for 1881. It is a more 
 familiar bird than the Sky-Lark, frequenting in its own 
 country the roads, and even making its appearance among 
 the houses of the villages, often perching on the walls. The 
 cock has a soft and pleasant song, generally given on the 
 wing, and the hen is said to sing also. The nest is generally 
 placed in a hoof-print, or other depression in the ground, 
 though sometimes on a bank or mud wall, or even on the 
 edge of a low thatched shed (see Yarrell's B. B. vol. i. 
 p. 633-4). It is easily distinguished from the Sky-Lark by 
 the reddish-buff colour of the under surface of the wings. 
 
 SHOET-TOED LAEK. 
 
 Alauda hrachydactyla. 
 
 This species, like the last, is a very rare visitant to Britain. 
 The first appearance in Sussex was that of one which had been 
 taken in a lark-net near Brighton in September 1854. It 
 
SHORT-TOED LARK.— WHITE- WINGED LARK. 113 
 
 was for some time kept alive in Mr. Swaysland's possession 
 (Zoologist, p. 4568). In April 1858 another was shot 
 while dusting itself in the road, and is noticed in the ' Ibis ' 
 for 1859, p. 330. No other is recorded until November 
 1874, when a third was caught in a net, close to the same 
 place, and brought alive to Mr. Swaysland, who sent it, still 
 living, to Mr. Rowley. Of the habits of this bird I can say 
 nothing from my own knowledge. 
 
 WHITE-WINGED LARK. 
 
 Melanocorypha sihirica. 
 
 The only specimen which has been met with in England was 
 exhibited by Mr. Rowley, at a meeting of the Zool. Soc. 
 January 27th, 1870, and was taken in a net at Brighton. It 
 was a hen bird *, and when captured was in the company 
 of a flock of about two dozen Snow-Buntings. It is now in 
 Mr. Monk's collection. Its habits are little known. It is 
 found in Northern Europe, and in South Russia generally, 
 and adjoining States. Pallas says that it frequents the road- 
 sides, singing as it flies ; that it does not rise often to any 
 great height, though it warbles for a long time while hanging 
 in the air, and that it builds its nest on the ground, forming 
 it of grass. 
 
 *It was originally recorded in the 'Zoologist', p. 1984, s. s., as a young 
 Snow-Finch {Montifringilla nivalis), a species not as yet known to have 
 occurred in this country. 
 
114 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 EMBEEIZID^. 
 
 SNOW-BUNTING. 
 
 Plectrophanes nivalis. 
 
 The Snow-Bunting visits the county almost every winter, 
 but is more abundant in very severe seasons. It arrives at 
 irregular periods depending on the weather, and sometimes 
 in very large flocks consisting of birds of both sexes and all 
 ages, though more generally, of birds of the year ; and often 
 flying so closely together that many may be killed at a shot. 
 It is not often met with at any distance inland, and is gene- 
 rally found on the beach, or on the flats which are uncovered 
 except at the highest tides, and sometimes on the unploughed 
 fields in the neighbourhood of the coast. 
 
 On the 18th of June 1839, I saw, in the flesh, at Mr. 
 Swaysland's an adult male which had just been shot near 
 Brighton. The nest has not yet been found in England, but 
 has lately been obtained in Scotland ; the first nest found 
 vnth eggs was placed, according to Mr. John Young, in a 
 " scree," or stream of loose stones detached by weather from 
 the mountain-side. Hitherto there has been but a single 
 record of this nest, which was exhibited to the Linnean 
 Society, November 1st, 1888. The food of all the Buntings 
 is principally seeds of some kind ; this species is especially fond 
 of those of Suceda maritima, but on occasion will eat oats. 
 At p. 79,% s. s., of the ' Zoologist,' Mr. Button records a 
 splendid pair shot at the "Wish Tower," Eastbourne, on 
 April 14th, 1867, one of them being in full summer plumage, 
 
SNOW-BUNTING.— LAPLAND BUNTING. 11.5 
 
 that is, pure white head and breast and black back; and at 
 p. 3912, s. s., Mr. Clark Kennedy mentions a specimen shot 
 on the beach, at the same place, in July 1873, and that it 
 was in full breeding-plumage. 
 
 LAPLAND BUNTING. 
 
 Plectrqphanes lapponica. 
 
 This Bunting is somewhat rare in England, and the follow- 
 ing are, I think, all that have been recorded as having 
 occurred in Sussex. In Yarrell's ' British Birds ' (vol. ii. 
 p. 16) it is stated that one was caught on the Downs, near 
 Brighton, in, or previous to, 1837*. On September 30th, 
 1844, an adult male was netted with some Larks, on the 
 Downs near Brighton, and is now in my collection ; it is in 
 the plumage of summer, but is undergoing a slight change 
 from the advance of the season. 
 
 In the ' Zoologist^ (p. 2383, s. s.) mention is made, by Mr. 
 Bond, of a young male, obtained near Brighton on October 6th, 
 1870 ; and another, also a young male, was caught in a net 
 on the Downs, and purchased by Mr. Swaysland, in the first 
 week of October 1875 (p. 4695, s. s.) Both these last were 
 taken alive. In the volume for 1889, Mr. Brazenor, a bird- 
 stufEer of Brighton, states that he received a male which was 
 caught about a mile from the town, in February of that year, 
 and on September 33rd a female, and on October 10th a male 
 (see pp. 144 and 436) ; and in a letter received in June 1890 
 
 * This species was not recorded in England at all till 1820 ; in that 
 year one was caught in Cambridgeshire and was kept for some months 
 in a cage. See Trans. Linn Soc. xv. p. 156. 
 
 l3 
 
116 THE BIKDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 he tells me that four more were brought to him in November, 
 and another in January, all taken in the neighbourhood. 
 According to Yarrell's B. B. vol ii., this bird is found in 
 colonies in Lapland, where the cloudberry and the dwarf 
 birch are the chief vegetation, and utters a song, which, 
 though not brilliant, possesses a tone of sweetness. The nest 
 is formed chiefly of dry grass and a bedding of soft feathers, 
 which distinguishes it from that of any other species fre- 
 quenting the district. It is generally a local bird, and does 
 not assemble in large flocks ; it feeds on berries and insects. 
 In its fondness for swampy places it resembles the Reed- 
 Bunting. 
 
 EEED-BUNTING. 
 
 « 
 
 Emheriza schcmiclus. 
 
 The Reed-Bunting is found throughout the county wherever 
 there are beds of reeds, either by the river-sides or in the 
 marshes or ponds, and is resident throughout the year. It 
 is particularly abundant in the patches of reeds between 
 Shoreham and Beeding, where any evening many may be 
 seen dropping in, one by one, from a considerable height in 
 the air to their roosting -places. 
 
 In the winter they roam about with flocks of Sparrows and 
 other small birds, feeding along with them about the corn- 
 stacks and farm-yards. 
 
 In the breeding-season it utters a slight song, generally of 
 a few notes, the last two or three being drawn out consider- 
 ably, while the bird is sitting on a high reed, or little bush 
 overhanging the water. 
 
 It builds among the reeds, constructing its nest of coarse 
 
RUSTIC BUNTING.-LITTLE BUNTING. 117 
 
 grass and moss, and lining it with finer grass and feathery 
 tops of the reed and a little hair. In land which is liable to 
 be flooded^ it is often built on the tangled herbage which has 
 been left on the willows, or other bushes, on the subsidence 
 of the water. It is generally known in Sussex as the Reed- 
 Sparrow. 
 
 RUSTIC BUNTING. 
 
 Emberiza rustica. 
 
 Notice of the only example which has occurred in England 
 was communicated to the 'Ibis' for 1869 (p. 138), by Mr. 
 Gould. It was caught near Brighton, October 23rd, 1867, and 
 is now in the collection of Mr. Monk. It was shown to 
 Mr. .Rowley while still alive, and its portrait has been given 
 by Mr. Gould in his ' Birds of Great Britain.' 
 
 Its proper home is in the north-east of Europe, and the 
 most northern part of Siberia. In its habits it much re- 
 sembles the Reed-Bunting. Of its nidification little appears 
 to be known. (See Yarrell, B. B., vol. ii. p. 39.) According 
 to Mr. Dresser (' Birds of Europe,' vol. iv. p. 333), the nest is 
 made entirely of fine wiry grass, and is not very carefully 
 built. 
 
 LITTLE BUNTING. 
 
 Emberiza pusilla. 
 
 This species, like the last, has only once occurred in Britain, 
 this example having been taken near Brighton m a clap-net. 
 It was exhibited by Mr. Gould, at a meeting of the Zoological 
 Society of London, November 8th, 1864, and recorded in 
 
118 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 their 'Proceedings' for that year^ p. 377 (see also 'Ibis/ 
 1865j p. 113) ; this specimen passed into the collection of 
 Mr. Monk. It inhabits^ like the last^ the northern parts of 
 Europe and Siberia. It is found both in the older pine 
 forests and underwood, building on the ground an artless 
 nest of grass-stalks and larch leaves, and is said to feed on 
 a species of beetle of the family Tenebrionidm. (See Yarrell's 
 B. B. vol. ii. pp. 34-36.) 
 
 BUNTING. 
 
 Emberiza miliaria. 
 
 The Bunting is remarkably heavy and clumsy in its appear- 
 ance and movements, suffering itself to be approached within 
 a few yards, and then merely moving away to a very short 
 distance, with a laboured flight, and with its feet hanging 
 down. 
 
 It is a resident, frequenting principally the most open parts 
 of the cultivated land near the coast, between the Downs and 
 the sea. During the winter it assembles in large flocks, 
 seeking its food, which mainly consists of grass and other 
 seeds, in the stubbles, and occasionally about the corn-stacks, 
 and it often assembles to roost among thick herbage above 
 tae ordinary high-water mark. In summer it spreads over 
 the cultivated fields, particularly those of seed grasses. 
 Among these it builds its nest, which is clumsily constructed 
 of straw and dry grass, with fine blades of the latter, fibrous 
 roots, and a little hair for the lining. At this time of the 
 yeai', it may be seen perched by the road-sides, and uttering 
 its harsh, single note from some bush or rail, and often from 
 a large clod, whence it has obtained the local name of " Clod 
 
YELLOW BUNTING.— OIRL BUNTING. Il9 
 
 Bird." A few pairs may occasionally be found on the north 
 side of the Downs, but it does not penetrate very far into, the 
 Weald. It is a very late breeder, its nest being often found 
 with eggs by the mowers. 
 
 YELLOW BUNTING. 
 
 Emberiza citrinella. 
 
 This is the commonest, as well as the handsomest, of all the 
 British Buntings, and may be found in almost every hedgerow 
 in all parts of the county, uttering its well-known note of 
 " a little bit of bread, and no cheese " in the spring, from the 
 top of a tree or bush. 
 
 The nest is seldom far from the ground, built of moss, 
 roots, and hair. Mr. Jeffery, in his private notes, men- 
 tions finding one composed entirely of roots. Like its con- 
 gener, the Bunting, it breeds rather late. In the winter it 
 flocks together with Chaffinches and other small birds, roving 
 about the fields and farmyards. It is always called the 
 " Yellow-hammer " in Sussex. 
 
 CIEL BUNTING. 
 
 Emberiza cirlus. 
 
 This is much more local than the last, but is found at 
 intervals all along the coast, though only in rare instances 
 in the Weald, and then not far north of the Downs. One 
 was accidentally shot, in the parish of Cowfold, by a person, 
 who fired at it as it was passing overhead, merely to 
 
120 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 discharge his gun before coming indoors. This was a male 
 bird. It is tolerably common in the neighbourhood ot 
 Brighton, and I have met with it occasionally, from Hastings 
 in the east, to Bognor in the west. 
 
 The note, which merely requires of the passer by " a little 
 bit of bread and no — ," without any mention of the " cheese," 
 is generally heard from a high leafy tree, which makes it diffi- 
 cult to get sight of the bird. 
 
 This species is particularly fond of the berries of the 
 Solanum dulcamara. The nest is placed on, or near, the 
 ground, sometimes in a quickset hedge or low bush, and has 
 been found several times near Brighton, among ferns, on a 
 rockery J and in such a situation I was shown one in the 
 garden of Mr. Booth, on the Dyke road, on which the female 
 was sitting at the time. The nest was very similar to that 
 of the Yellow Bunting, and, like that species, this bird 
 assembles in flocks in the winter, sometimes, according to 
 Mr. Booth, as many as 50 or 60 being seen together. 
 
 ORTOLAN. 
 
 Emberiza hortulana. 
 
 Of the occurrences of this bird in Sussex there are not many, 
 and it is a decidedly rare bird in England. It visits us 
 occasionally in summer only. It is common in Holland and 
 Flanders, and breeds there, forming a nest somewhat like 
 that of the Sky-Lark ; the note is said to be chirping and 
 monotonous. 
 
 In the spring great numbers are, or used to be, imported 
 into England from Rotterdam for the table, so that it is far 
 
ORTOLAN.— BLAOK-HEADED BUNTINa. V21 
 
 from improbable that some of those recorded as having been 
 taken in this county are escaped birds. 
 
 On April 39tb^ 1841, a fine specimen, now in my collection, 
 was shot on the viaduct of the Brighton railway, close to the 
 town, and was recorded by me, Ann. Nat. Hist. vii. p. 524; 
 and a male was shot between Lancing and Worthing, April 
 37th, 1853 (Zoologist, p. 34<76). Mr. G. W. Stephenson, 
 by whom it is recorded, mentions that when first observed, it 
 was seeking food on the beach by the road-side. It was 
 found to contain the remains of small beetles, principally a 
 species of Curculio. One of these birds was caught with bird- 
 lime on the Dyke Road, Brighton, in 1870, and was in the 
 dark brown plumage of the adult male in summer ; this 
 specimen passed into my own collection. About the 5th of 
 May 1871, one was got at Brighton, according to Mr. J. H. 
 Gurney, junr. (Zoologist, p. 3683, s. s.). A female was 
 obtained near Brighton, in February 1877, which came into 
 my possession. 
 
 BLACK-HEADED BUNTING. 
 
 Mus'piza melanocephala. 
 
 This species was first recorded as British, by Mr. Gould, in a 
 letter dated December 1st, 1868 (see ' Ibis ' for 1869, p. 138), 
 in these words ; — " I have now to inform you of the occurrence 
 of Emberiza {Euspiza) Tnelanocephala, of which a very fine 
 old female specimen in perfect plumage is now before me. 
 It was brought me by Mr. Robert Brazenor, of 23 Lewes 
 Road, Brighton, by whom it was shot about the 3rd of 
 November last, near Mr. Ballard's windmill on Brighton 
 Race-course, while, as he stated, ' it was following a flock of 
 
122 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 Yellow-hammers/ His two sons were with him at the time. 
 On examination of the bird, a number of eggs were found in 
 the ovarium. This is all the information I was able to obtain 
 respecting it." It has occurred once in Heligoland. Mr. 
 Robson, of Ortakeuy, states that its habits are similar to 
 those of the Common Bunting, sitting on the top of a bush, 
 or low tree, and pouring forth its simple notes, or flying from 
 one elevated part to another, with its legs hanging down. 
 The nest is built not far from the ground in a rose bush, 
 vine, or bramble. Dr. Lindermayer, in his work on- the Birds 
 of Greece, says : — " This Buntiag arrives always in the last 
 five days of April in Greece, appearing everywhere at once, so 
 that the flats near the sea, which are covered with vines and 
 other creepers, and the places where the olive-trees are 
 scattered about, are alive with this lovely and melodious bird. 
 It is peculiarly partial to vineyards. Its ^est is always 
 formed of dried straw, is carefully made, and is lined with 
 horsehair. The bird leaves Greece in August." 
 
 PRINGILLID^. 
 
 CHAFFINCH. 
 
 Fringilla coelebs. 
 
 Thts bird is of such a sprightly disposition, and of such 
 elegant plumage, that "to be as gay as a Chaffinch" 
 has become quite an ordinary proverb. It is one of our 
 commonest Finches, and is found in all the wooded parts of 
 the country, and in every garden, and its joyous note is one 
 of the first indications of approaching spring. It has the 
 
CHAFFINCH.— BRAMBLING. 123 
 
 remarkable habit of walking along a horizontal bough, and 
 may be often seen springing up from a high branch into the 
 air and pursuing an insect, very much ia the mannsr of a 
 Flycatcher. It may be frequently seen on the road in search 
 of food, and in the summer builds an extremely elegant nest, 
 generally well matched in colour with surrounding objects, 
 and composed of moss and wool, or any soft material, orna- 
 menting the exterior with pieces of white lichen, or now and 
 then a flake of birch bark, lining it neatly with hair and 
 feathers. It is disliked by. gardeners from its propensity to 
 pick up the seeds from the radish-beds, and its eating the bads 
 of the early vegetables when just springing from the ground. 
 It is also very destructive to primroses and crocuses, com- 
 pensating greatly, however, for these injuries, by destroying 
 a vast number of leaf-rolling caterpillars, and insects which 
 infest our apple and other fruit-trees, and by devouring great 
 quantities of seeds of plants injurious to the farmer. It also 
 feeds its young principally on insects and their larvae. 
 
 In the winter it assembles in large flocks, often, but not 
 always, of only one sex. 
 
 BRAMBLING. 
 
 Fringilla montifringilla. 
 
 The Brambling is an autumn visitant, occasionally remaining 
 late into the spring. It is most abundant in very severe 
 winters, and is found, either singly, or in small parties, feed- 
 ing round the corn-stacks, showing preference for oats. 
 Another specially favourite food is beech-mast, for which it 
 visits the plantations on the Downs and the Forest, occa- 
 sionally in large flocks of both sexes together. 
 
T24 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 There was a very large arrival of this species all along the 
 coast of Sussex, in January 1867, when the weather was very 
 severe, and the fall of snow unusually deep,. In the same 
 month of 1871 there was an exceedingly violent storm, when 
 the largest arrival of these birds occurred that I ever re- 
 member, and great numbers sought their food round the 
 houses wherever it was charitably provided for birds in 
 general, and the stubbles along the coast were literally covered 
 with them, together with Linnets and other small birds. 
 
 On the 4th of February 1841, I shot three males and one 
 female as they were feeding under an oat-stack, behind the 
 Pad Inn, near old Shoreham Bridge, and three others were 
 shot near the same place a few days before. 
 
 I have hitherto referred only to the coast; inland, the 
 Brambling has often occurred, but not so plentifully. In 
 January 1838, a male was shot in the garden at IJarrow Hill, 
 Henfield, while feeding on crumbs at the window ; and in 
 February 1841 two more males were shot in the same parish. 
 In April 1843 a flock of about forty frequented the beech- 
 trees in the parish of Lower Beediug, in St. Leonards forest, 
 •for some weeks, and on the 14th two males and two females, 
 in full nuptial plumage, were sent to me. In October 1853, 
 about a dozen were caught in a sparrow-net while roosting 
 among the straw on the sheltered side of an oat-stack at 
 Cowfold, two of which I received; about the same time 
 several were obtained in the neighbourhood of Horsham. 
 
TEEE-SPARROW.— HOUSE-SPARROW. 126 
 
 TEEE-SPAEROW. 
 
 Passer montanus. 
 
 A SEVERE winter generally brings small parties to the coast 
 and the Downs, accompanying the flocks of Bramblings, and 
 searching, like them, for their food on the stubbles and about 
 the stack-yards. They arrive in small flocks, some of them 
 passing on from east to west, and returning again in the 
 spring, when the greater number leave the county altogether, 
 a very few pairs remaining to breed. A few years ago, I 
 found a little colony nesting in holes in some pollard ash near 
 the river Adur, in the parish of Henfield. It has occasionally 
 been taken in the sparrow-nets, roosting in the corn-stacks ; 
 I have also received it from Eastbourne. In plumage the 
 male and female difier very slightly. It generally chooses a 
 hole in a tree for its nest, but it has several times made choice 
 of apertures among the sticks under the Rooks^ nests at 
 Oakendean, near Cowfold. 
 
 With regard to its song, though some consider it, harsh, 
 my own opinion is that it is very pleasant, but a trifle Spar- 
 row-like, and it is continued for some little time. The nest 
 is composed of dead grass and feathers. 
 
 HOUSE-SPAEEOW. 
 
 Passer domesticus. 
 
 Of this bird I may say with Horace — 
 
 " Difficile est proprie communia dicere : '' 
 it is as universally distributed over this county as it is 
 over nearly all the rest of Great Britain, and I have little to 
 
126 THE BIEDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 say of itj save that it is about equally destructive and bene- 
 ficial to the interests of the agriculturist, for, though it 
 appropriates to itself large quantities of grain, it also rids 
 them of immense multitudes of injurious insects. It is a 
 most familiar as well as impudent bird, of which I may give 
 one remarkable instance. A lady at my own house at Cowf old, 
 watched one of them coolly plucking the feathers from the 
 back of a so-called Sicilian Dove {Turtur risorius), which 
 was sitting on its nest in a somewhat bare Arbor vital, 
 immediately under her bedroom- window. So many singular 
 situations which the Sparrow has chosen for its nest have 
 been described by others, that, although it has nothing to do 
 with the Birds of Sussex, I cannot refrain from mentioning 
 one, and this was in the mouth of Thorwaldsen's celebrated 
 statue of the Lion, at Lucerne, greatly diminishing the 
 dignity of the figure. The grimy appearance of the Sparrow 
 of our towns, and the bright and sprightly aspect of those of 
 the country, make them appear so distinct, that Mr. Booth 
 has facetiously given in his ' Bough Notes ' an admirably 
 characteristic plate of each. 
 
 A Sparrow pudding is a favourite Sussex dish, and by no 
 means to be despised. Many hundreds are annually taken 
 in nets at night, and I have many times when a young man 
 joined in the amusement of catching these birds. 
 
 HAWFINCH. 
 
 Coccothraiistes vulgaris. 
 
 The Hawfinch is resident, and is met with occasionally in all 
 the wooded portions of the county, in early spring singly, 
 and after the beginning of April, in pairs. By the middle of 
 
HAWFINCH. 127 
 
 that monthj or in the first fortnight of May, they may be 
 observed in little family parties, feeding on seeds in general. 
 By the time the peas are well formed they enter our gardens, 
 committing great havoc among them, and if undisturbed 
 they would continue to do so till after they are ripe, and 
 would finish them to the last pea. These birds are then very 
 wild and difficult to get a shot at. They are especially fond 
 of the seed of the maple. During the breeding season they 
 are remarkably silent, and had I not from time to time 
 picked up a stray feather or two of the hill-hook-shaped 
 primaries, 1 should have had no idea that there were any in 
 the neighbourhood. I have only myself met with two of the 
 nests in Sussex, and both were in my own garden; they 
 were roughly constructed of a rather large mass of dead 
 twigs of the birch, lined with fine grass, wool, a little hair, 
 and a few feathers. One was placed on a very leafy bough 
 of an apple-tree, and the other in thick ivy, against the trunk 
 of an oak, each about ten feet from the ground. In winter, 
 a considerable flock may occasionally be met with. In 
 December 1889, I observed a female breaking up the green 
 seed-vessel of an Arbor vitce, close to a window of my own 
 house. They are remarkably fond of maize, which I have 
 often seen them take from the side of a pond where it was 
 thrown for some tame wildfowl, in my own grounds ; and I 
 have several times caught them, attracted by the same seed, 
 at a chicken-house, which has a large run enclosed by iron 
 wire, where, on my sudden appearance, they were too 
 frightened to find the apertures by which they had entered, 
 and, on one occasion, I was so severely bitten on the hand as 
 to draw blood. 
 
 In January 1889, a female was seen close to the window at 
 Barrow Hill, Heufield, for some days, and was afterwards 
 joined by a male. They were observed feeding on the seeds 
 of a rose-tree, close to the house. This bird does not eat the 
 
128 THE BIEDS OP SUSSEX. 
 
 flesh of fruit, but only the kernels of the stones, of which it 
 swallows small pieces, for the purposes of trituration. Mr. 
 Jeffery, in his p. n., remarks that "in February 1873, this 
 species was plentiful in a cherry orchard near Chichester. 
 Twelve were sent in one day to a bird-stuffer in that town." 
 One met its death by flying against the lantern of the Bell 
 Tout lighthouse, near Beachy Head, in December 1863 
 (Zoologist, p. 9043). Several were killed at Eastbourne. 
 
 GREENFINCH. 
 
 Coccothraustes chloris. 
 
 This species is very common, and resident throughout the 
 county, frequenting our gardens and hedgerows, breeding in 
 the shrubberies every spring, and, like the Chafiinch, doing 
 considerable damage to the seeds sown, or coming up, in the 
 kitchen garden. It nests in April, using green moss, wool, 
 and fibrous roots, and, for the lining, finer roots, hair, and a 
 few feathers. In winter it gathers on the stubbles and 
 hedgerows in large flocks, more especially on those between 
 the Downs and the sea, flying so close together that, in my 
 boyhood, I several times killed as many as twenty at a shot. 
 It resorts, at this time of year, to the farm-buildings and 
 stack-yards, as well as to the sea-beach and dry mud-flats, 
 where it feeds on the seeds of the rough herbage, among 
 which it roosts. The Greenfinch is often caught with other 
 birds in the sparrow-nets, and is much used in the cruel 
 "sport" of trap-shooting. Its monotonous call is heard 
 early in the spring, but it does not sing till the nest is com- 
 menced, or finished, and then it continues to do so till after 
 midsummer, often from the top of a high tree, occasionally 
 
GREENFINCH.— SERIN. 129 
 
 flying up, and describing a small semicircle, almost hovering 
 in the air, and with wings stretched out and tail wide spread, 
 descends to the place whence it came, or to the top of another 
 tree close by. 
 
 SERIN. 
 
 Serinus hortulanus. 
 
 Of this, one of the smallest of our British Fringillidce, but 
 few specimens have occurred. As almost all which have yet 
 been taken in this county have been caught near Brighton, 
 and as it is not a very uncommon cage bird, it is not im- 
 possible that all may be escaped birds : it is, however, re- 
 marked in YarrelFs ' British Birds,^ vol. ii., that most of the 
 specimens have been captured in the spring, the most likely 
 season for this species to reach England. Those I have seen 
 have certainly borne no marks of having been in confinement. 
 In my own collection I have a female caught near Brighton 
 on April 1st, 1873. It has never bred in this country. 
 
 According to the editor of Yarrell's ' British Birds ' (vol. ii. 
 p. 114) its song is poor, and generally uttered from the top 
 of some tree, and sometimes on the wing while flying up, 
 in the manner of the Tree-Pipit. 
 
 Its nest is very neat and compact, built of fine roots and 
 grass bents, neatly lined with feathers and horsehair, the 
 outer portion interwoven with spiders' webs with a few bits 
 of lichen and grey moss. On the Continent, it inhabits 
 gardens and orchards, or the high poplars bordering many of 
 
 the roads. 
 
 Mr. Bond (Zoologist, p. 7105) mentions that he was shown 
 a specimen of this bird, which was caught in a clap-net near 
 
 K 
 
130 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 Brighton, June 20th, 1859; it was then in the possession of 
 Mr. Pratt, who had it shortly after its capture ; it was de- 
 scribed as being quite alone and very wild. Mr. Bond 
 believed it to be a female. Mr. Monk (Zoologist, p. 239, s.s.) 
 states that a beautiful example was caught on April 9th, 1866, 
 at Hove ; it was also taken in a clap-net, and was in fine 
 summer plumage; it passed into his own collection. Again 
 in the ' Zoologist,' p. 119, for 1884, Mr. Bond records a 
 specimen of this bird taken near Brighton in April 1870. 
 Another is mentioned by Mr. Chase, of Edgbaston, as having 
 been obtained at Ovingdean, near Brighton, a male in perfect 
 plumage showing no signs of captivity, January 27th, 1888 
 (Zoologist, p. 108, for 1888). 
 
 GOLDFINCH. 
 
 Carduelis elegans. 
 
 Although the Goldfinch was formerly very common in all 
 the open parts of the county, it has, of late years, become 
 comparatively rare. Its favourite fare, " the thistle's downy 
 seed " or that of the common knapweed, of which it is ex- 
 ceedingly fond, are however still sufiiciently abundant. It 
 formerly bred every year, in my own garden, frequently 
 choosing a horse-chestnut on the lawn, as also a Phillyrea, 
 placing its nest between the diverging stems close to the 
 trunk, and in a particularly thick apple-tree, near the end of 
 a leafy branch, and, now and then, a lichen-covered pear, 
 building it of wool, felted together with the aforesaid lichen, 
 and lining it with the down of the seed of the balsam poplar, 
 a very favourite material, when it can be obtained. The nest 
 is very similar to that of the Chafiinch, but much smaller 
 
GOLDFINCH. 131 
 
 and even neater. For its sprightly manners, its cheerful 
 notesj and its extreme docility, it is greatly prized as a cage- 
 bird, and is frequently supplied with a small bucket and 
 chain, with which it is taught to draw up its water^ or seed. 
 In winter it receives considerable accessions, and though not 
 in such large numbers as formerly, it is frequently captured 
 in clap-nets, coming freely to the call- birds. Mr. Booth 
 states that one Brighton bird-catcher informed him that 
 about twenty-five years before the publication of his ' Kough 
 Notes,' he had, at one pull of his net, taken eleven dozen. 
 Mr. Hussey, in 1860 (Zoologist, p. 7144), put the annual 
 captures of this species near Worthing at about 1154 dozen, 
 nearly all cocks ; and Mr. Booth further states that even 
 larger numbers used to be yearly taken within ten miles of 
 Brighton, adding that in that neighbourhood it had now be- 
 come comparatively scarce, owing in part to the fatal prac- 
 tice of catching the birds prior to, or during the breeding 
 season ; so that not a hundred may now be seen, even at the 
 most favourable time of the year. Knowing this, no one 
 can be surprised at the diminution of the species. The young 
 are known to the bird-catchers as Greypates. 
 
 There is also a variety called the Cheveril, or the Chevil, 
 which is distinguished by being somewhat larger than the 
 ordinary form, by having the chin entirely white, and the 
 white on the sides of the head extending upwards in a well- 
 defined line across the occiput; the sides of the breast, 
 which are usually brown, being also white. This form is 
 uncommon and valuable, because it is believed to have a 
 sweeter song, and to pair more freely with the Canary-bird. 
 
 k2 
 
182 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 SISKIN. 
 
 Carduelis spinus. 
 
 The Siskin is an irregular autumn and winter visitant, 
 arriving about October, when the seeds of the alder are its 
 principal attraction, and occasionally congregating in large 
 numbers. It may then be found among copses and marshy 
 land, or on open commons and boggy places bordering the 
 little streams in St. Leonards forest, in the gills — a Sussex 
 term signifying the deep wooded ravines — wherever the alder 
 abounds, the seeds of which form its favouiite food, and, in 
 search of that seed its attitudes are very like those of the 
 Titmice, as often as not head downwards. At this time it 
 is so tame that I have more than once heard of its being 
 caught with a noose at the end of a fishing-rod. While it is 
 feeding it keeps up a constant twittering. In the winter of 
 1871 or 1872 a flock frequented, for a few days, some old 
 alders at the head of the upper pond at Woldringfold, near 
 Cowfold, three or four of which were sent to me. I have 
 also seen it busily engaged on the seeds of the birch. It is 
 in high estimation as a cage-bird, and is often taken in the 
 clap-net. It will breed freely with the Canary-bird. In my 
 own notes I find, that in October 1839, several, males and 
 females, were caught at Hove. It has frequently been 
 observed among alders, near the Hassocks Station of the 
 L. B. and S. C. Railway, and, at the proper . season, it may 
 be met with wherever that tree is plentiful. In Mr. Jefi'ery's 
 p. n. I find the following remark : — " July 3rd, 1867. I 
 have just heard from Mr. G. Drewitt, of Oving, that a pair 
 of Siskins have built, and hatched out their young, in the 
 garden of Mr. Birrell, the rector of that parish.'' Mr. 
 Jeflery also records (Zoologist, p. 597), that on October 
 
SISKm.— MEALY REDPOLL. 133 
 
 13th and 13thj 1866, it was seen feeding on alder seeds, in 
 company with the Lesser Redpoll, and that the Siskin is 
 the rarer bird of the two. The nest is said to be very like 
 that of the Chaffinch, but smaller. 
 
 MEALY REDPOLL. 
 
 Idnota linaria. 
 
 The Mealy, known to bird-catchers as the Stone, Redpoll, 
 has by some been regarded as only a large variety of the 
 Lesser Redpoll. It appears very irregularly in the winter, 
 sometimes in large flocks, but is never so abundant as the 
 species next to be described, and its numbers appear to have 
 decreased considerably of late years. It was unusually com- 
 mon in the neighbourhood of Brighton about 1875, since 
 which time it has been comparatively rare. I have never 
 myself had many opportunities of observing it. On the 
 north side of the Downs, a short distance from them, Poyn- 
 ings Common, which is covered with rushes and coarse 
 herbage, and bounded on one side with brushwood and high 
 timber, used to be one of its favourite places of resort, where 
 it fed on the seeds of the thistle and of the common knap- 
 weed [Centaurea nigra), and thus engaged, I once saw about 
 a dozen, some of them very brightly coloured, and admitting 
 a very near approach. Further into the Weald I have neither 
 met with nor heard of it. Most of those that have been 
 found have been on the cultivated land between the Downs 
 and the sea. It has never nested in the county, nor is there 
 any record of the bird having been seen later than the middle 
 of February. It has probably acquired the title of Mealy 
 Redpoll from the elongated white fringes to the plumage, 
 which it assumes in the winter, giving it the appearance of 
 having been powdered over with flour. 
 
134 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 LESSEE REDPOLL. 
 
 Linota rufescens. 
 
 This, the smallest Finch which visits us, is seldom met with 
 in the Weald, and I have but once seen it there. - Its habits 
 are similar to those of the Siskin, and, like that species, it 
 delights in the seed of the alder, in search of which they are 
 occasionally found in company. Although it has nested in 
 each of the adjoining counties, and I have myself received an 
 egg taken by the late Mr. Bury in the Isle of "Wight, I have 
 never heard of its having done so in this county in a truly 
 wild state. Mr. Booth has, however, mentioned that a few 
 nests werefound in elders andwillows, in 1869, near Brighton; 
 he supposes, from the worn and faded appearance of the birds, 
 that they had escaped from confinement. 
 
 In the winter it i& often captured in very large numbers in 
 clap-nets, no bird responding more readily to the note of 
 the call-bird. At the time of immigration it has frequently 
 been taken in small traps on the roofs of the houses in 
 Brighton and Hastings. In confinement the red portion of 
 the head changes to yellow after the first moult. 
 
 LINNET. 
 
 Linota cannabina. 
 
 Throughout the county, except- in the large woods, this 
 species is universally distributed. It is resident, and breeds 
 especially in furze-bushes, and in all our gardens and shrub- 
 beries, forming its nest of roots, and lining it with wool. It 
 
LINNET.— TWITE. 13B 
 
 is a good songster, and in tlie winter assembles in very large 
 flocksj and many hundreds annually fall victims to the bird- 
 catchers. It feeds oa small seeds of all kinds, and, like many 
 of its congeners, is, in the spring, very destructive in the 
 kitchen garden, but feeds its young principally on cater- 
 pillars and insects, thus perhaps doing more good than 
 harm. 
 
 TWITE. 
 
 Linota flavirostris. 
 
 The Twite, known also as the Mountain Linnet, arrives in 
 this county only in winter, confining itself entirely to the 
 coast, especially to the salt-marshes, and those portions of 
 the mud-flats which are dry and covered with coarse herbage. 
 In such spots I have particularly observed it in small flocks 
 just above the bridge at Old Shoreham, and in February 
 1841 1 shot several there, and also fell in with a small party, 
 in company with the Brambling and Tree- Sparrow, picking 
 up the corn by the side of an oat stack in the parish of 
 Lancing. It is also frequently found on the beach. Like 
 the Common Linnet it is much prized by bird-fanciers, and, 
 though it has but a poor song, in severe weather it is caught in 
 great numbers. It breeds in the Northern Counties, where 
 the nest resembles that of the Common Linnet, and is generally 
 placed in a furze-bush. 
 
136 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 BULLFINCH. 
 
 Pyrrhula europcea. 
 
 In every part of the countyj where there are high hedges or 
 tangled copseSj the whistling call-note of the Bullfinch may 
 be often heard, though the bird itself is naturally wild and 
 retiring, keeping to the interior of the thick bushes, but it 
 will often show itself if one remains perfectly quiet. In 
 spring they enter the gardens, and then have the credit of 
 doing great damage, especially to the gooseberry bushes, by 
 picking off the buds to such an extent that I have been asked 
 to shoot them, though 1 think that the shot often does at 
 least as much harm as would be done by the birds. If you 
 squeeze one of them, and pass your thumb up from below the 
 throatj it will discharge the buds, when you will find that 
 they have been swallowed whole, and though there is the 
 embryo of the blossom in each, I have nevertheless often 
 thought that they do more good than harm, for the crop of 
 gooseberries is generally as great as the bushes ought to bear, 
 and the fruit is the finer for the thinning. 
 
 The nest is constructed of small sticks at the base, most 
 artfully laid together, then comes a first lining of long roots, 
 and, after that, a second of very fine ones. It is often built 
 in a thick bush, or a closely-clipped quickset hedge. At this 
 period of the year it is very tame, and I have known the 
 nest in an Arbor vitse close to my window, also in a Pyra- 
 canthus trained close to the window of a cottage. To the 
 berry of this tree the Bullfinch is especially partial, as it is 
 to the seed of the wild rose, and those of several other berries, 
 though it feeds its young with insects and half-digested 
 green buds. 
 
BULLFINCH. -SOA.RLKT aROSBEA.K. 137 
 
 I have heard it remarked that this bird is extremely silent, 
 and that its call-note is the only one it possesses. The fact 
 is that its natural song is an inward warble, so low that 
 unless one is close to it, it is not likely to be heard. During 
 its delivery it pufEs out its feathers and labours violently, as 
 if it thought it was making a great noise. It is valued as a 
 cage -bird for its beauty, and for the facility with which it 
 acquires artificial notes from a flute, or bird-organ. Though 
 this bird in confinement occasionally becomes black from 
 overfeeding with hemp-seed, I have known one instance of 
 a brood of four, taken near Hayward's Heath, which were all 
 black from the first, and one of them is in my collection. I 
 mention this, because I think for a whole family to be of an 
 abnormal colour, in an undomesticated state, is extremely 
 uncommon. 
 
 SCAKLET GROSBEAK. 
 
 Pyrrhula erythrina. 
 
 This species has only once been taken in Sussex. In Yarrell's 
 ' British Birds ' (vol. ii. pp. 172-3) we read as follows : — " The 
 first unquestionable appearance of the Scarlet Grosbeak in 
 this country seems to have been recorded by Mr. Wonfor 
 (Zoologist, s. s. p. 1918), and the statement was confirmed 
 by Mr. Bond {op. cii. p. 1984), a hen bird having been 
 caught on the Downs, near Brighton, in September 1869. 
 This example was seen by the writer in Mr. MonFs aviary 
 at Lewes, and lived there until June 1876." Its habits are 
 described as much resembling those of the Linnet, though it 
 affects marshy coppices rather than the open country. It 
 is also called Scarlet Bullfinch. 
 
i;W THE B[HDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 PINE GROSBEAK. 
 
 Pyrrhula enucleator. 
 
 This extremely uncommon visitor is reported to have 
 appeared twice in Sussex. It is an inhabitant of all the 
 coniferous zone of the northern parts of both the Old and the 
 New World, and possesses much of the retiring habits of the 
 Bullfinch. It is almost always a tame and unsuspicious 
 bird, and has acquired a reputation, quite undeserved, for 
 stupidity. The cock, in early spring, utters his melody from 
 the summit of a fir ti'ce, chiefly at sunrise and sunset (see 
 Yarrell's B. B. vol. ii. pp. 184-5). Mr. Knox, in his 0, R. 
 makes this statement : — " I can record but two instances of 
 this rare bird in Sussex ; an example was shot near Cotes 
 House, about three miles from Petworth, while feeding on 
 the seeds of a Pinaster, by a gentleman of the name of 
 Mellish, who, being well acquainted with British birds, at 
 once recognized the species. In February 1848, two were 
 killed at the same time in Ashdown Forest, one of them, which 
 I saw, was an adult male.^' But in the ' Zoologist ' for 1877, 
 p. 247, concerning these two specimens, Mr. J. H. Gurney, 
 Junr., writes : — " Although it was believed at the time that 
 they had been killed as stated, Mr. Knox informs me by 
 letter, that he now almost begins to doubt them.^^ 
 
 In the same paper Mr. Gurney also states that he saw iu 
 the possession of Mr. T. J. Monk, of Lewes, a handsome 
 yellow male bird obtained at Shoreham, near the old bridge. 
 
CROSSBILL. 139 
 
 CEOSSBILL. 
 Loxia cu/rvirostra. 
 
 Roaming over the county ia large or small companies, 
 this species may be found occasionally, in any month of the 
 year, wherever there is a plantation, or even a clump, of fir- 
 trees. My earliest note refers to January 1836, when two 
 in the red, and one in the green plumage, were shot, out of 
 a flock of about a dozen, at Nuthurst. In July 1838, a party 
 of about the same number visited a garden at Henfield, out 
 of which 1 shot one red and one green specimen^ as they were 
 extracting the seeds from the cones of a Scotch fir. Tlieir 
 method of doing this is by inserting both mandibles between 
 the laminae of the cone, and giving a twist, when, I suppose, 
 the seed falls into the mouth, as I never could see anything 
 of it on the withdrawal of the beak. They remained in that 
 garden, or in the neighbourhood, for several days. On tlie 
 39th of the same month and year, my attention was attracted 
 by the shrill note of a little flock of these birds as they flew 
 over my head. Following them, I found about a dozen on 
 some larch firs ; and on the next day I again saw several in 
 the garden at Henfield. In August of the same year, I met 
 with them again at Uckfield, and the points of the bill of five 
 which I shot were much more elongated than in any I had 
 before seen. The red birds had a great admixture of orange- 
 yellow. In March 1840 one was brought me from St. 
 Leonards forest. This was in the red plumage, and was 
 moulting, the new feathers on the throat being of a light 
 orange-colour, as were the few which were expanded on the 
 breast. 
 
 In February 1839, several were shot at Hurstpierpoint and 
 at Riugmer. 
 
140 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 In January 1861, a flock of some sixty or seventy flew over 
 my head in a large plantation of larch, near Crawley, when 
 my attention was drawn to them by their letting fall several 
 cones of that tree. They settled at no great distance, when 
 I had an excellent view of their parrot-like manners, as they 
 frequently used their bills in climbing to different parts , of 
 the branch, or, standing on one foot, held the cone in the 
 other while extracting the seed ; and I observed that they fre- 
 quently carried a cone with them when flying from tree to tree. 
 
 I once received a nest, with eggs, from St. Leonards 
 forest in March, but I have not recorded in what year. It 
 was about twenty feet from the ground, on the branch of a 
 Scotch fir, close to the stem. The nest, or perhaps only a 
 portion of it, the only one I have myself seen, was constructed 
 of dry grass, lined with finer grass, and a little rabbit^s fur, 
 and finished with horsehair. Gilbert White mejjtions this bird 
 as appearing annually at Ringraer. Mr. Knox (0. R. p. 212) 
 states that " in the autumn of 1835, great numbers of these 
 birds were observed in most of the pine and larch woods in 
 Sussex. They were abundant at Salt Hill, near Chichester, 
 and in that neighbourhood, and at Parham.^' Mr. Jeffery 
 observes that in July 1866, a male was obtained at Chidhara, 
 and another, the following September, at Sidlesham. 
 
 PARROT CROSSBILL. 
 
 Loxia pityopdUacus. 
 
 The habits of this species, which was formerly considered 
 only a large variety of the Common Crossbill, but is now held 
 to be distinct, are similar to those of its congeners. I have a 
 specimen in the red plumage, which was shot in St. Leonards 
 
PARROT CROSSBILL.— RED-WINGED STARLING. 141 
 
 forest in March 1870. One is recorded (Zoologist, p. 6329), 
 by some one whose name is not given, thus : — " I saw 
 the bird, ' in the meat^' in Mr. Swaysland's shop. It had 
 been caught at Bognor, by a bird-catcher in clap-nets, 
 November 2ndj 1858. The bird bit his fingers so much that 
 he dared not place it with the newly-caught Goldfinches, and 
 was therefore obliged to kill it. It had a very large beak, with 
 the cross not nearly so much developed as in Loxia curvi- 
 rostra. There was a little yellow on the head. It was curious 
 to find such a bird apparently a long way from any of its 
 appropriate food." It is a native of the pine-forests of 
 Northern Europe, appearing in winter in Germany and 
 Poland occasionally, sometimes in Holland, Belgium, and 
 France. 
 
 ICTERID^. 
 
 RED-WINGED STARLING. 
 
 Agelceus phoeniceus. 
 
 This is a very abundant species in North America, and a 
 common cage-bird in this country. 
 
 The particulars of the only two specimens which have been 
 recorded as obtained in this county, are as follows :— One, 
 stated by Mr. Jeffery (Zoologist, p. 8951) to have been 
 killed on December 25th, 1863, at Sidlesham, and to have 
 been found in a hedgerow. He believed it to be a male, but, 
 it being shot in the back, he could not tell by dissection. 
 The gizzard contained, besides small gravel, some round black 
 seeds ; it was in good condition, and showed no signs of having 
 been in confinement. The second example is a male, said 
 
142 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 to Have been caught near Brighton, March 21st, 1866; kept 
 some time alive in a cage, and now in Mr. Monk's collection. 
 In its native country. North America, it is very destructive 
 to corn, but also devours great numbers of insects. 
 
 STUENID-ffil. 
 
 STARLING. 
 
 Sturnus vulgaris. 
 
 This sprightly and familiar bird is found throughout the 
 county ; and in the spring affects houses and farm buildings, 
 breeding in the chimney-stacks and water-pipes, from which 
 it is very diflScult to eject it, for, though several may be shot, 
 others will take their places most pertinaciously. 
 
 Neat as it may be in appearance, it is very untidy in its 
 habits, scattering the nesting materials about wherever it 
 takes up its abode. It is fond of cherries, but its food consists 
 very greatly of aphides and grubs, and of small laud moUusks, 
 of which I have found many in the interior of Starlings 
 which I have examined, chiefly Zua lubrica and Zonites purus. 
 It often accompanies the cattle in pastures, feeding on tlie 
 crane-flies and other insects disturbed by their feet. 
 
 At certain times of the year they assemble in large cloud- 
 like flocks, and, at this time, they roost in great numbers in 
 the reed-beds and in the underwoods, breaking down the 
 reeds in the former, and in the latter destroying the 
 vegetation on the ground by their droppings. On arriving 
 at these spots they perform many evolutions, with great 
 chattering, before they settle, when they swoop down 
 suddenly and not a note is heard. They nest also in 
 
STARLING.— ROSE-COLOURED STARLING. 143 
 
 holes in trees and chalk-pits, often in sea-clifiFs, building a 
 rude nest of straws and hay, or any rough materials, with 
 many feathers, bits of worsted, &c. 
 
 The Starling has a very chattering note, as well as a pleasant 
 warble, and readily imitates the songs of other birds, or the 
 mewing of a cat, or sound of a saw, and it is easily taught 
 to speak many words and sentences. 
 
 EOSE-COLOURED STARLING. 
 
 Pastor roseus. 
 
 Very rarely, and at long intervals, this species has appeared 
 in the county. In its general habits and notes it much re- 
 sembles the Common Starling. 
 
 In its native country. South Russia, Turkey, Greece, &c., 
 it assembles in large flocks, following, or sometimes preceding, 
 as if they expected their arrival, the flights of locusts, and 
 feeding on them, as well as on beetles and fruit. It nests in 
 large companies in holes of buildings and in quarries. 
 
 I have in my collection a beautiful adult male, which was 
 shot from the back of a sheep, near Brighton on August 20th, 
 1870. Another was in its company, and was shot at the 
 same time, but of which sex I have no information : they are 
 recorded in the ' Field,' and in the ' Zoologist,' p. 2344, s. s. 
 Another adult male was shot by Mr. Massie, of Warnham, 
 near Horsham, where it was shown me soon after by a bird- 
 stuffier. 
 
 Mr. Dennis, then Rector of East Blatchington, informed 
 me that two specimens were shot in that neighbourhood in 
 August 1855, one, a male in full adult plumage, the other, in 
 moult. They were shown him by Mr. Potter, formerly a 
 
144 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 bird-stuffer in Lewes. The first was tlie property of Mr. 
 Fuller^ of Tarring Neville^ by wbom it was shot ; the other, 
 of the sex of which I was not told, was killed by a gardener 
 at Piddinghoe, who, on Mr. Potter calling at his house, 
 brought it from his garden, where he had just shot it. A fine 
 specimen was shot at Bexhill, in August 1871, and sent for 
 preservation to Mr. Kent, of St. Leonards-on-Sea (Zoologist, 
 p. 2765, s.s.) It has never nested in Britain, though it has 
 occurred as early as May and as late as February. 
 
 CORVID-ffi. 
 
 CHOUGH. 
 
 Pyrrhocorax graculus. 
 
 I FEAR that the Chough is now extinct in Sussex. I may 
 mention that I had a good opportunity of watching the 
 habits of this bird in co. Mayo, Ireland, where it is still 
 numerous. Several authors have stated that Choughs never 
 settle on the grass ; there, however, I saw them every day 
 on it, searching about like Starlings in front of the house, 
 and picking up something from the turf. They might be 
 heard chattering Irish down the chimney of my bedroom 
 early in the morning. I generally saw them fiying about 
 in little parties, over the patches of oats and potatoes. They 
 breed on the cliffs, and on ruins of old castles, near the sea, 
 building their nests, in the most inaccessible crannies, of 
 sticks and seaweed, feeding on beetles and grubs, as well as 
 on crustaceans and shell-fish, and are said to dig up young 
 potatoes. The note of the Chough when fiying, somewhat 
 resembles that of the Daw, but is pitched in a much higher 
 key. 
 
CHOUGH. 145 
 
 It frequently rolls over in its flight, and falls to a consider- 
 able distance, after the manner of the Raven. 
 
 Merrett, writing in 1667, speaks of it as found along the 
 whole coast, from Cornwall to Dover. Gilbert White, 
 writing in 1773, states that it bred on Beachy Head, and 
 on all the cliffs of Sussex. Markwick, that this bird fre- 
 quents the South Downs about Beachy Head and East- 
 bourne; and Mr. Woolgar, who died in 1821, says in his 
 catalogue of the birds of the environs of Lewes, printed in 
 Horsfield's history of that town, that it "builds on the 
 cliffs on the coast. Common at Beachy Head." Mr. Knox 
 (0. R. p. 213) says, — " This was certainly its last stronghold ; 
 but it disappeared from the coast about twenty years ago." 
 It is in evidence that Choughs were given occasionally by 
 Cornish gentlemen to their friends in other counties, and Sir 
 Thomas Gage, in his ' History of Hengrave,^ records one thus 
 sent by a Carew to Kytson, of Hengrave, in Suffolk. I hear 
 from Mr. Dennis, some time rector of East Blatchington, that 
 a Chough was brought to him on January 29th, 1868, by one, 
 Joe Barker, who had just shot it between Seaford Head and 
 the Puck Church. It was in good condition and plumage. 
 
 There is a legend that the Choughs, which foremrly bred 
 there, were derived from a pair which had escaped from con- 
 finement ; but Mr. Dennis informs me that he never heard 
 the story, and believes that it must have originated from the 
 fact that a gentleman turned out a pair of Magpies, which 
 bred for years on a solitary tree in front of the town of Sea- 
 ford. The gentleman paid blackmail to the boys not to 
 molest them. When he left, they were soon destroyed, and 
 the tree has long since perished. 
 
 Mr. Dutton, writing in the ' Zoologist -' for 1864 (p. 9099), 
 remarks : — " An old shepherd says, ' Them there red-legged 
 Crows was common at Beachy Head and Bell Tout about 
 forty years ago.' " 
 
146 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 RAVEN. 
 
 Corvus corax. 
 
 The Raven is now become a rare bird in Sussex, and its 
 breeding-places are very few. It is extremely voracious, and, 
 though feeding on any living animal it can master, hares, 
 rabbits, rats, &c., as well as on young lambs, or even full- 
 grown sheep, if found in a state of weakness, a dead car- 
 cass of any kind is a particular attraction. It feeds also on 
 freshwater mussels, as well as on marine shell-fish, or any 
 animal matter it may find on the sea-shore, though near its 
 nesting-places it is said to do little damage, driving off any 
 Hawks, or other intruders, from its neighbourhood. In my 
 own notes I find the following : — "The Raven has for many 
 years bred annually in Danny Park, Hurstpierpoint. A fine 
 adult female was shot there in January 1840, which was 
 afterwards presented to me. Having been much disturbed 
 iu the park, these birds forsook the spot, and betook them- 
 selves to a plantation on the side of the neighbouring Wol- 
 stonbury Hill, one of the South Downs. 
 
 " On April 16th, 1855, 1 visited this new settlement, and 
 found that the nest was built in an old Scotch Fir, about 50 
 feet from the ground. The birds were very anxious and 
 clamorous, flying round and alighting on the trees, some- 
 times within 300 yards or even nearer, or soaring over our 
 heads uttering their bark-like cry. A few days before, a 
 boy had been up to the nest, and found in it four young birds 
 newly hatched. He said that the old birds, when he was at 
 the nest, were very, savage, and darted down several times to 
 within a few feet of. him.^^ 
 
 Though it has nothing to do with the birds of Sussex, I 
 
RAVEN. 147 
 
 may mention that on December 2nd, 1837, I saw in Cam- 
 bridge Market five young Eavens, quite in a callow state, 
 which had been taken within a few miles of that town, the 
 only instance in which I have known the young of any bird 
 to have been met with in this country, at that time of year, in 
 an undomesticated state. 
 
 It still breeds every season on the cliffs, and formerly did 
 so in Burton Park and at Parham. Mr. Knox, O. R. 
 (p. 150), states that they also bred in Petworth Park, 
 but had been missing for many years, till, to his surprise, 
 when riding one day in 1843, in the park, he heard the 
 unmistakable croak of a Raven, and perceived it dashing 
 among a flock of Jackdaws, which it succeeded in driving 
 from the precincts of its nest. This he found placed in a 
 fork near the top of one of the highest trees in a clump of 
 beech. The holes in the trunks were occupied by a colony 
 of Jackdaws. In the following year this clump of beech 
 was deserted for one of fir, and there Mr. Knox again found 
 them breeding. After this, the nest was robbed by a boy, 
 but the young birds were fortunately discovered and restored 
 to the nest, when the parents again took to and reared them. 
 
 The late Bishop Wilberforce, in his review of Mr. Knox^s 
 0. R., in the ' Quarterly Review ' for September 1849, vol. 
 Ixxxv. pp. 489, 490, makes this observation: — ''In the spring 
 of the year the Ravens returned to their old nest, and re- 
 paired and occupied it according to their wont ; incubation 
 had already begun, when a violent spring storm actually 
 beat the mother from her nest, and scattered the eggs upon 
 the ground. After a few days the Ravens began to repair 
 the damage of the storm, and, abandoning the unfortunate 
 tree, they constructed upon another their new nest. . , . 
 A second storm, almost as soon as the nest was completed, 
 again marred their work, and actually tore the nest itself 
 from the tree. For a few days the Ravens were missing \ 
 
 L 2 
 
148 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 after this they returned, but conjugal disagreement finished 
 what the violence of the wind had begun. The work of 
 nidification was recommenced, but one bird was set upon 
 repairing the original, the other, upon building a new nest. 
 For a day or two the divided work proceeded, when, as if by 
 mutual compromise, both abandoned their separate under- 
 takings and flew off together in search of a more favoured 
 spot. The appearance at the same moment of a pair of 
 Ravens, who proceeded forthwith to build and incubate at 
 Parham Park, about eight miles distant, seems to mark out 
 that place as the haven of their choice. ' Italiam laeti 
 Latiumque petamus.^ " There was, however, a Raven's 
 nest at Parham Park long before the arrival of those birds, 
 and I suspect there were Ravens nesting in that Park for 
 many years before. About the year 1830 a pair nested near 
 the summit of the ruined gateway-tower of Bramber Castle, 
 and again in 1843 ; but these last were unfortunately shot. 
 Mr. Booth says, that in passing over the South Downs in 
 1876, near Saddlescombe, during September and October, he 
 noticed a pair of Ravens flying from the Dyke Hill. A year 
 or two later, a dead body, or rather a skeleton, of a man was 
 found in a patch of furze near the top of the hill, and that 
 as the Ravens had been often noticed about the same spot, 
 he had not the slightest doubt they had discovered it, and 
 had returned to it regularly, as long as there was anything 
 to attract them. 
 
 GREY CEOW. 
 
 Corvus comix. 
 
 Although this species and the Black Crow are now con- 
 sidered to be identical, its habits in this county do not 
 
GREY CROW. 149 
 
 appear to warrant that opinion. For, whereas our present 
 subject does not appear there till October^ departing in 
 March, I have never known any accession to, or diminution 
 of, the numbers of the Black Crow at either period. The 
 latter birds, too, pair inter se, in March, yet I have never 
 known them to do so in Sussex with the Grey Crow, a 
 circumstance which, had it occurred, would surely have been 
 noticed by some one. Why, if they are of the same species, 
 does the Grey Crow always leave us to a bird, and the Black 
 Crow breed here ? It is equally persecuted wherever it goes, 
 being welcomed with strychnine in a piece of carrion, or in 
 an egg, placed for it in all directions, whether in England, 
 Scotland, or Ireland, no bird being more destructive to the 
 eggs or brood of any game, especially of Grouse. Surely the 
 circumstance of their breeding together in the northern 
 counties can be no proof of their being the same species. 
 On the 4th of January, 1841, I witnessed an interesting 
 chase of, I believe, a Common Bunting, by one of these birds 
 whose manoeuvres in the pursuit were perfectly marvellous, 
 as it followed every twist and turn of its intended victim, 
 and this continued as long as they were in sight. As the 
 Bunting was evidently growing fatigued, I have little doubt 
 that the Crow succeeded in capturing it. Mr. Booth, in his 
 ' Rough Notes,^ states that he has seen this Crow pursuing 
 birds, which appeared fatigued by a heavy gale, far out to 
 sea, and over it they will often hover, and drop upon any 
 floating garbage they can discover. AU along the coast it 
 may be found during its short visit, feeding about the roads 
 and the manure heaps, and the more filthy its food the more 
 it seems to enjoy it. 
 
 Inland, it is seldom met with, though I have now and then 
 seen one some eight or ten ndles from the coast. It retires 
 at night to the plantations on the Downs, those about 
 Brighton, for the most part, roosting in the beech woods in 
 
160 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 Stanmer Park. It is kaowu as the Grey, Royston, or Saddle- 
 backed Crovr. 
 
 BLACK CKOW. 
 
 Corvus corone. 
 
 This Crow^ formerly very abundant all over the countyjis now, 
 from its persecution by the gamekeeper, far less so, and bids 
 fair to become altogether extinct. Its habits and food are 
 similar to those of the Raven, and, like it, it is never found 
 in flocks, not more than a pair, or at most the parents and 
 their young, being seen together. The nest is generally on 
 a tree of moderate height^ and usually placed on the top of 
 the trunk at the divarication of the pjincipal boughs. 
 Although not associating together, I once found no less than 
 seven nests in one wood of about ten acres. This was in 
 April, and they all contained eggs or young. 
 
 The nest is neater than that of the Rook, and is formed 
 externally of dead sticks, copiously lined, often with dry 
 horse-droppings, overlaid with a thick layer of wool. 
 
 Though said to migrate southward in autumn, I have 
 always found the numbers about the same throughout the 
 year, except from the addition of young birds in summer. 
 In winter it frequents the sea-coast for what it can find on 
 the beach. I have twice seen it strike down a bird on its 
 flight — once a pigeon, which I picked up, and once a small 
 bird, which it carried away in its beak. It is generally 
 known as the Carrion Crow. It is particularly fond of the 
 large freshwater mussel, which it opens by violent blows 
 on the ligaments which attach the valves. 
 
"ROOK. 151 
 
 ROOK. 
 
 Corvus frugilegus. 
 
 So much has been written respecting this species, that I have 
 little, or nothing, new to say about it. As it has been dis- 
 puted whether, or not, it feeds on carrion, I may state that I 
 have often seen it tugging away at the pieces of horseflesh 
 hung up by the keepers in the trees, as food for their dogs. 
 Several winters ago, in a deep snow, a fox carried ofl" three 
 pinioned Sea-GuUs from my own premises. I observed, in 
 three places in the meadow close to my house, several Rooks 
 busily engaged, and, on driving them off, I found the bodies 
 of the gulls, the head of each having been doubtless eaten by 
 the fox, the remainder being quite freshly torn about by the 
 Rooks. I left them, and the Rooks shortly returned, when, 
 with a binocular, I saw them swallow down several pieces of 
 the GulPs flesh. The Rook is very destructive in gardens, 
 digging up and devouring the crocuses and tulips ; it is also 
 particularly fond of green walnuts. Several years ago the 
 late Sir Percy Burrell, wishing to establish a Rookery at 
 West Grinstead Park, procured some boughs of trees with 
 nests containing young from about half a mile ofl^ and fixed 
 them in a clump of old oak in the aforesaid park. The 
 parents came there, and the young were brought up, and a 
 considerable Rookery is now established. 
 
 There was, untU a few years ago, one of the largest 
 Rookeries in the county, at Woodmancote, The timber, 
 which was some of the finest oak in Sussex, was cut aboui 
 1876. All the birds of the smaller Rookeries, from long 
 distances, used to resort to this place in the winter, visiting 
 occasionally their own colonies to repair the nests. Since 
 
153 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 the destruction of this grand establishment, several smaller 
 Rookeries have sprung up in the county. 
 
 Before a gale, I have often seen Rooks ascend to what 
 Gilbert White would call a prodigious height in the air, 
 circling about, and now and then descending rapidly, nearly 
 to the ground, and continuing these manoeuvres sometimes 
 for an hour together. 
 
 In Daniel's ' Rural Sports,' 1807, vol. iii., we find the 
 following : — " Between the Rook and the Raven there appears 
 a wonderful antipathy. Mr. Markwick says, that in 1778, so 
 soon as a Raven had built her nest in a tree adjoining to a 
 very numerous Rookery, all the Rooks immediately forsook 
 the spot, and have not returned to build there since. 
 
 At the Bishop of Chichester's Rookery, at Broomham, 
 near Hastings, upon a Raven building her nest in one of the 
 trees, the Rooks left the place. They, however, returned to 
 their haunts in the following autumn, and built their nests 
 there the succeeding year. It is no very difficult task to 
 account for this antipathy; the Raven will scarcely suffer 
 any bird to come within a quarter of a mile of its nest, being 
 exceedingly fierce in defending it ; besides, the Ravens 
 seize the young Rooks from their nests, to feed their own : 
 this, at Mr. Seymer's, at Harford, in Dorsetshire, Mr. Lam- 
 bert was eye-witness to, and there was no rest in the 
 Rookery, night or day, till one of the old Ravens and the 
 young ones were destroyed." 
 
 The Rook occasionally builds on trees in our towns, as, for 
 example, at Brighton, where it may often be seen settling on 
 the pinnacles of the Pavilion. 
 
DAW.— PIE. 158 
 
 DAW. 
 
 Corvus momdula. 
 
 The Daw, generally called the Jackdaw, is resident and 
 abundant, associating much with the Rooks, building in the 
 hollows of the trees of the Rookery, and sometimes in the 
 masses of old Rooks' nests, the accumulation of years ; it 
 frequents also the higher spires in our towns, and is fond of 
 breeding in old chimneys, or on the flights of steps, and in 
 apertures in ruins and ancient buildings, as well as in clifls 
 and chalk-pits. The Daw is a sad thief, and is greatly 
 attracted by any bright object, such as a teaspoon, or piece of 
 money, which it will hide in some corner or cranny ; it will 
 often steal sticks used for marking the plants in gardens, 
 and is a very familiar bird, and exceedingly amusing. It 
 constantly accompanies the Rooks in their excursions, and, 
 like them, indulges in extraordinary aerial evolutions, chasing 
 one another and tumbling in the manner of certain varieties 
 of the tame Pigeon. It feeds on garbage of all sorts, as well 
 as on grubs, beetles, &c., and is very fond of walnuts. It 
 uses large quantities of sticks, sometimes more than a bushel, 
 in the construction of its nest, lining it with quantities of 
 horse-droppings, shavings, and wool. 
 
 PIE. 
 
 Pica rustica. 
 
 This beautiful bird, which appears at a distance to be merely 
 black and white, has, in fact, but little real black about it, 
 and that only on the head, neck, and upper part of the back. 
 
154 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 the rest of the dark portions of its plumage being shot with 
 green, bronze, and steel-blue. It is exceedingly cunning, 
 and a great enemy to the game preserver, killing young 
 hares and rabbits, and stealing the eggs and young of Part- 
 ridges and Pheasants from the coops. It builds a rough and 
 bulky nest in the branches of a high tree, doming it over, 
 and composing the foundation of sticks, and the interior of 
 fibrous roots, turf, and grass, forming a deep cup> which it 
 then plasters with clay. The dome is more lightly built of 
 the thorniest sticks, making a sort of chevaux de frise pro- 
 jecting outside in all directions. The entrance is in the side, 
 just proportioned to the size of the bird. When the female 
 is sitting, a person waiting to shoot her often finds it difficult 
 to make her leave the nest, even by striking the tree with a 
 stick, and when she does so she suddenly descends perpen- 
 dicularly, keeping the trunk of the tree between herself and 
 her foe, and thus often escapes for a time. It, however, 
 sometimes chooses for its site a thick hedge, or closely grown 
 hawthorn, perhaps quite low down, and when this is the case 
 it is called in Sussex the " Bush Magpie." 
 
 It formerly bred freely in all parts of the Weald, but, 
 from constant persecution, it has now betaken itself chiefly 
 to the thorn-trees in the deep valleys of the Downs. Great 
 numbers were formerly taken in steel traps baited with a 
 hen's egg, this being an irresistible attraction. 
 
 It is a favourite cage-bird, being amusing in its actions, 
 and readily tamed, and taught to talk, imitating, of its own 
 accord, the various noises around it. 
 
 Besides the food already mentioned, it has a strong pen- 
 chant for cherries and peas. 
 
JAY. 155 
 
 JAY. 
 
 Garrulus glandarius. 
 
 This very gaily dressed bird is still fairly abundant in 
 most of our woods and copsesj and is rightly named ^arru/ws, 
 as its whereabouts is constantly proclaimed by its squalling 
 and harsh cries, at all times of the year, except in the breed- 
 ing season, when it is so silent that, unless from occasionally 
 seeing the old bird, no one would suppose there was a Jay in 
 the neighbourhood. Of this. I can give a notable instance : 
 I was sitting on a seat in my own garden, under a very thick 
 evergreen oak, a conspicuous object from my window, when, 
 to my surprise, I heard the cry of a young Jay overhead, 
 and, on looking up, there was the nest, though I had not 
 seen or heard the parents about the premises. 
 
 This is the only one of the Corvidce which attempts a 
 song, and a strange medley it is, of an inward chattering and 
 gurgling warble, mingled with an occasional imitation of 
 the notes of various other birds, and perhaps, now and then 
 the mew of a cat, or bark of a dog. During the utterance of 
 these notes, it is usually concealed among the thick foliage. 
 It builds an open nest, about 15 feet from the ground, on 
 the top of the trunk of a tree, in the underwood of a coppice, 
 or in a thick bush, on a considerable platform of sticks, and 
 lines it very neatly with fine roots. 
 
 I have several times shot this bird with a mouse in its 
 bill, and two or three times with a young Partridge in the 
 down, and once an old Tree-Pipit. As this last was in May, 
 it had probably captured it while sitting on its nest. It is 
 fond of maize and fruit, and, if it has a chance, does great 
 damage amongst the peas in the gardens. It is also a great 
 devourer of eggs, and is constantly caught by the keepers, by 
 
166 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 placing a Thrush's nest on a little platform of turf four or five 
 feet from the ground^ among the underwood, and surrounding 
 the nest with steel traps. In captivity it will imitate the 
 noises of the neighbourhood. The blue feathers, of the wing 
 are in great repute among anglers for the dressing of their 
 salmon-flies. ' It is frequently much infested by a species of 
 Hippobosca. 
 
 NUTCRACKER. 
 
 Nucifraga caryocatactes. 
 
 The only occurrence of this bird in Sussex is the following : — 
 On the 26th of October, 1844, 1 saw one at a bird-stuffer's in 
 Brighton, which I was told he liad received, in the flesh, from 
 a farmer of the name of Newman. On him I called, and 
 was informed that it was shot by his nephew, Mr. Roods, at 
 Littlington, on the 26th of the previous September. It was 
 flying across a turnip-field, and appeared to have risen from 
 a stubble near at hand. Unfortunately the interior had 
 been removed before it was sent to Brighton. It is a mature 
 bird. The sex was not ascertained, nor what it had been 
 feeding on. I bought it, and have it still. It is said to be 
 not uncommon in some parts of Europe. The following ac- 
 count by a lady relative, Mrs. Blackburne, of Henfield, a 
 great and accurate observer of birds, gives so graphic a 
 description of its manners, that I think I may, as the lawyers 
 say, "put it in;" it was written out at my request in 
 March 1890 :— 
 
 " You asked me to give you an account of the Nutcracker 
 which I saw in Switzerland. 
 
 " We were walking from the Eggischhorn to the Bel Alp, 
 
ileirui,ns Qi:; trL IiIItl 
 
 iiiniem Brcfi , C'r:rorT>o 
 
 TH E NUTCRACKER. 
 
 A LLC : t r cxQ a. c ai^'v^o c at^./. t e i 
 
NUTCRACKER. 157 
 
 and, when we had passed the Reider Alp, began to descend 
 the rugged side of the mountain, which is covered with fir- 
 trees, through which the path is cut in steep zigzags to the 
 edge o£ the Great Aletsch glacier in the valley beneath. We 
 had scarcely entered the wood, when I heard the call of a 
 bird whose note was quite new to me, strong and loud, yet 
 full and rich, reminding me ef the Australian Crow, whose 
 note I had heard, in confinement. My brother thought it 
 was harsh, but I thought it only clear. We both watched, 
 and saw the bird busy at the top of a fir-tree, searching 
 among the cones. It seemed very wary, but not shy, and as 
 we could only see it against the sky, it looked black, and it 
 flew away before we could make out what bird it was. 
 
 " A short time after, I heard another call, and proceeding 
 very quietly, I saw the bird busily at work on the top of a 
 fir-tree pounding into one of the cones, using its powerful 
 beak like a hammer, as the Nuthatch and the Tits do. Before 
 we got down to the edge of the glacier, we saw five or six of 
 the birds. I think they were a family party, they answered 
 each other's call, and flew from tree to tree, always settling 
 quite on the tops of the firs and holding the cones with their 
 feet together, beating into them with their beaks. I could 
 not get near enough to see the spots clearly, they looked a 
 brownish black. I consider they were young birds of the 
 year, and, like Starlings, not getting their full plumage till 
 after the moult. I have no doubt as to their being Nut- 
 crackers ; there seems no other bird they could possibly be. 
 I was very glad to have the opportunity of watching them. 
 They looked about the size of small Jackdaws, but it is 
 always difficult to judge accurately the size of birds in very 
 wild and bold scenery." 
 
 The editor of Yarrell's 'British Birds' (vol. ii. p. 335), 
 describes a nest in his possession as five or six inches in thick- 
 ness, with an outside diameter of about a foot, and six inches 
 
158 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 across the interior. It is composed outwardly of sticks and 
 twigs of larchj spruce^ and birct ; all, as the swollen state of 
 their buds show, freshly plucked, as is also the grass -with 
 
 which it is thickly lined In some nests a considerable 
 
 quantity of earth, or rotten wood, underlies the lining, which 
 occasionally consists of hair-like lichen. Mr. Hancock, in 
 his ' Catalogue of the Birds of Northumberland and Durham ' 
 (p. 40), after giving an interesting account of a Nutcracker 
 which he kept six years in confinement, makes the following 
 remarks ; — " Its voice was very peculiar ; it had an extremely 
 harsh loud cry, resembling the noise produced by a ripping 
 saw while in full action. This cry was so loud that it could 
 be heard all over the house. It had also a sweet, low, delicate, 
 warbling song. This was uttered only when everything was 
 perfectly quiet. The song was much varied, and was con- 
 tinned for some time. So low and delicate was it, that it 
 could only be heard when the bird was close at hand, and 
 the note seemed as though it were produced low down in the 
 throat. The song was occasionally interrupted by a few low 
 creaking notes, like those produced when a corkscrew is 
 being used." 
 
 HIRUNDINID^. 
 
 SWALLOW. 
 
 Hirundo rustica. 
 
 The average date of the arrival of the Swallow in this county 
 is, according to notes kept by myself for more than thirty 
 years, the 6th of April, but they are seldom numerous till 
 about a week later. I once witnessed the, apparently, first 
 arrival of a considerable company of these birds, which settled 
 
SWALLOW. 159 
 
 togetlier on the branches of an ancient pollard ash, and were 
 so fatigued that several dropped from the tree^ and even 
 allowed me to pick them up and put them on the somewhat 
 flat surface of a large limb, where they remained quiet for 
 more than half an hour. This was at least four miles inland, 
 and I never could understand why they had not rested sooner ; 
 but I suppose the distance to a Swallow in full flight is a 
 matter of very few minutes, and hardly appreciable. 
 
 The nest is built of mud, mixed with small pieces of hay 
 or straw, and lined with feathers, which the Swallow, like 
 the Martin, often, perhaps always, catches in the air. It is 
 saucer- shaped, and though often placed in a chimney, about 
 six feet down the shaft, is more commonly found on the sur- 
 face of a beam in a barn, or under the roof of a porch, or out- 
 house, perhaps under a bridge, or the arch of a gateway. I 
 once found one in a small box left on the seat of a summer- 
 house ; and, when a boy at school, saw one in the same situa- 
 tion as that mentioned by Gilbert White, namely, on the 
 back of a dried Owl, which he says went to the Leverian 
 Museum. My specimen was hanging up in a barn at Wester- 
 gate, near Chichester j what became of it I do not know. 
 When the young are hatched, the parent birds collect a large 
 quantity of gnats and small Coleoptera in their mouths, with 
 which to feed them. At this time, on the approach of a 
 person to the nest, it will swoop down at his head, making a 
 snapping noise with its beak, as it will also at a dog or cat. 
 1 have seen them caught by boys, with a fishing-rod, with a 
 small white feather, or piece of paper on the hook. Should a 
 Hawk come in sight, they will collect, and mob him and drive 
 him off. They assemble in large numbers on roofs and tele- 
 graph wires, previous to their departure from the country, 
 and the main body have all left by the end of October. 
 
 The young may be known on the wing, by the absence of 
 the elongation of the outer feathers of the tail. 
 
160 THE BIBDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 MAETIN. 
 
 Chelidon urUca. 
 
 The Martin arrives a little later than the Swallow, ahout the 
 middle of April, and the main body have left us by the 
 middle of October. I have, however, occasionally met with 
 a few as late as November, on the 5th of which month I once 
 observed four, hawking for insects around the castle at Lewes, 
 These were young birds, as has been the case with nearly all 
 those I have seen so late in the year. These birds are much 
 persecuted by the Sparrows, who frequently take possession 
 of their nests, and not always with impunity; for in two 
 instances I have seen the Martins stop up the entrance of 
 one, in which the Sparrows had young ; onc§ at Shelford, 
 near Cambridge, about the year 1839, and again at Martin 
 Lodge, Henfield, in 1843 or 1843. In the former case 
 seven Martins were busily thus engaged, and in spite of the 
 resistance of one of the old Sparrows, if not of both, from the 
 inside of the nest, they succeeded ia imprisoning them. The 
 Martin usually affixes its mud-built nest on the wall under 
 the eaves of a house, or beneath the architrave of a window, 
 sometimes on the underside of a mass of chalk projecting 
 from a cliff. A colony of these birds will frequently breed 
 in close proximity, and a row of perhaps a dozen nests may 
 be seen together. They seldom alight on the ground, except 
 when collecting mud for their nests, the feathers with which 
 they line thera, being often captured in flight while floating 
 in the air. 
 
SAND-MARTIN. 161 
 
 SAND-MAETIN. 
 
 Cotile riparia. 
 
 This, the smallest of the British Hirundines, arrives, in most 
 yearsj a few days earlier than the Swallow, making its appear- 
 ance near some river or pond. It is seldom seen far from 
 the water, except in the hreeding- season, at which time 
 it resorts in considerable numbers to sand-pits, railway- 
 cuttings &c., in the perpendicular faces of which it digs out 
 nearly circular holes, that, unless interrupted by a stone, or 
 a stratum too hard to penetrate, it excavates to the depth of 
 about two feet, straight or crooked, according to the nature 
 of the soil, clinging, by the support of its tail, or sometimes 
 head downwards, and scratching out the earth with its feet : 
 at the further end of the hole it forms a neat nest, composed 
 of fine grass, lined with feathers, preferring those of the 
 Goose. It feeds its young on dragonflies and other insects. 
 Though generally silent, the male has at this time a soft 
 twittering song. Its flight is wavering and butterfly-like. 
 It usually avoids the neighbourhood of houses, but occa- 
 sionally makes use of the holes in masonry, called in Sussex 
 '^ putlog" holes. It is rarely met with on the Chalk, or in 
 the district between the Downs and the sea. It is much in- 
 fested by fleas, which may often be seen in multitudes in and 
 around its holes. The Sparrows greatly persecute it, and 
 often possess themselves of its hard-earned abodes. It does 
 not congregate, like the other Hirundines, previous to its 
 departure, but all have left us by the end of September. 
 
 M 
 
HS2 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 F I C A KI ^. 
 
 CYPSELID^. 
 
 SWIFT. 
 
 Cypselus apus. 
 
 The Swift arrives about the 4th of May^ when it congregates 
 around the highest buildings of our towns, or the towers of 
 our village churches. 
 
 In fine weather it seems to pass the greater part of its 
 existence in careering about high in the air, for it is never 
 seen to alight on the ground or to settle on trees or buildings, 
 and, except in the breeding-season, seems never to rest. 
 At this time Swifts may be seen dashing about, pursuing 
 one another with rapid flight, and screaming loudly. They 
 are particularly active during thunder-storms ; in very rough 
 winds or cloudy days, however, they may be observed to fly 
 much lower, and when they have young wiU descend nearly 
 to the ground, or fly over the water, capturing dragonflies 
 and other insects, especially minute Coleoptera. In the 
 breeding-season they betake themselves to the eaves of some 
 lofty building, where they place, generally on the wall-plate, 
 an artless nest of hay or straw, lined with feathers, and at the 
 time of incubation the females are serenaded by the loud 
 cries of their partners as they dash around the building. 
 They will sometimes, however, take possession of similar 
 situations under the roofs of low cottages, returning to them 
 tor many years in succession. I once observed a pair of 
 
SWIPT.— ALPINE SWIFT. 163 
 
 these birds flying to and fro under a bridge^ only a few 
 inches above the level of the surrounding fields, and, as the 
 -water was low, I managed to get under it, and there found, 
 on the piece of timber supporting one end of the planks of 
 the bridge, a nest containing two eggs. On another occasion, 
 I found several birds, sitting on their nests on the wall-plate 
 under the eaves of a church, and took them off to see how 
 many eggs they had, placing the old birds by the side of the 
 nest, when they made no eflfort to move, and I put them back 
 and left them. As I have said before, the Swift is never 
 voluntarily on the ground, and, when placed on a level sur- 
 face, rises from it with great difficulty. It is infested by 
 great numbers of a species of Hippobosca. It leaves us 
 early in August, but I have once seen it as late as the 14th 
 of September. 
 
 ALPINE SWIFT. 
 
 Cypselus melba. 
 
 This rare straggler is larger than C. apus, measuring 18 
 inches in extent of wing. Its habits are very similar. In 
 Switzerland, the only place where I ever saw it alive was 
 about the Cathedral in Berne, whither I went for the pur- 
 pose, and well was I rewarded ! for it was a beautiful day, 
 and I saw great numbers of this magnificent Swift careering 
 around, and far above, the spire. I was not so successful, 
 however, in procuring the egg, in hope of which I ascended 
 the interior of the spire, for the only nest I found, but did 
 not see, was in a hole which I thought I could reach from 
 a small opening at the highest accessible point. By leaning 
 out as far as possible, I could just touch an egg with the tips 
 of my fingers, but durst not reach out an inch further, the 
 
 M 2 
 
164 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 mullion on which I was leaning showing signs of consider- 
 able weakness. I wetted my fingers and made some mud 
 from a dirty beam, hoping an egg might adhere to 
 them, but with no avail, as it was not sticky enough, 
 and I was obliged to give up the attempt, having no 
 desire to make so rapid a descent as I might have done. 
 What would I not have given for a bottle of gum, or a tea- 
 spoon ! but there was no time to go down and return, as I 
 was compelled to leave by a particular train. This was in 
 August 1869. The nest is thus described in Yarrell's 
 ' British Birds,' vol. ii. p. 375 : — " The nest is placed in holes 
 of rocks or buildings, and is described as being small, for 
 the size of the bird; semicircular when placed against a 
 vertical surface, and formed of straws, grasses, and leaves, 
 with moss, or almost any other material it can collect on the 
 wing, the whole being glued together with its^saliva." 
 
 The only specimen which, as far as I am aware, has 
 occurred in Sussex, was seen sitting on a rail at St, 
 Leonards-on-Sea early in October 1851, and was knocked 
 down by a boy. It passed into the possession of Mr. 
 Johnson, chemist, of that place (Zoologist, p. 3330) . 
 
 CAPRIMULGID^. 
 
 NIGHTJAR. 
 
 Caprimulgus europoeus. 
 
 The Nightjar, Pern Owl, or Goatsucker, is migratory, appear- 
 ing about the middle of May, and leaving the country 
 towards the middle of September. It is found in all the 
 wooded districts, as well as on the open Downs and heaths. 
 
NIGHTJAR. 165 
 
 It feeds generally by night, on Coleoptera, especially the 
 chafer, and on the night-flying moths. Gilbert White says 
 that, while watching one of these birds pursuing chafers, he 
 saw that it conveyed something to its mouth with its foot, 
 and that he supposes the serration of the middle claw to be 
 useful to the bird in holding its prey; and in Yarrell's 
 ' British Birds ' is mentioned the suggestion of Mr. Sterland, 
 that it may be an assistance to it in maintaining its hold on 
 the branch of a tree in the horizontal position which, when 
 it settles, it always assumes. It is, however, doubtful 
 whether it is designed for this purpose, or what its true 
 function is. Although, as I have said, it mostly feeds by 
 night, I have several times seen it in the brightest sunshine, 
 lying on the top of a bee-hive, swooping every minute or two 
 at the bees, and have known it so engaged for many hours 
 at a time, and it is often shot while thus destructively 
 employed. 
 
 So far from avoiding the sunshine, it seems to delight in 
 it, and I have often seen it knocked on the head by the all- 
 destroying keeper. 
 
 My son, going about one night with a lantern, collecting 
 moths on sugar, observed one thus stretched out on the top 
 of a post, and, turning his lantern on it, the bird was so 
 dazed by the light that it allowed itself to be stroked down 
 the back. Its note exactly resembles the sound of a spinning 
 wheel, and the "Spinning Wheel Copse ^' has from time 
 immemorial been the name of a small wood in a neighbouring 
 parish, which is more resorted to by Nightjars than any spot 
 with which I am acquainted. It has another note, resembhng 
 that caused by the passage of a whip through the air. It 
 has extraordinary powers of flight, twisting and wheeling 
 about in all directions. 
 
 It lays its eggs, making no nest, on the ground, in an open 
 space in a wood, and seems fond of placing them among the 
 
166 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 chips left by the hoop-shavers, where I have often fouud them. 
 When startled while sitting, it strikes its wings violently 
 together in the manner of the Pouter and some other Pigeons, 
 though its usual flight is inaudible. This has hitherto been 
 considered the only representative in this country of the 
 Caprimulgidae, but a single specimen of the C. cegyptius has 
 been obtained in Nottinghamshire ; and an example of the 
 large South-European species, C. ruficollis, is said to have 
 been taken in Northumberland, in October 1856 (Ibis, 
 1862, p. 39). 
 
 CUCULID^. 
 
 CUCKOO. 
 
 Cktculus canorus. 
 
 Having kept notes of the arrival of the Cuckoo in this 
 county for more than thirty years, I And the earliest to have 
 occurred on the 6th of April 1844, but about the 14th is the 
 more usual date. There is a saying in Sussex that it is 
 turned out at Heathfield JPair, which is held on that day — 
 the name of this village is rusticaUy pronounced Hevel. 
 Although the Cuckoo is not strictly polygamous, seven or 
 eight may occasionally be seen chasing one another from 
 tree to tree, and at this time another syllable is prefixed to 
 the usual note, thus : " Cu-ouckoo," generally twice repeated 
 at short intervals. It has besides a clear, liquid note, which 
 I cannot express in writing, and it also chatters, on leaving a 
 • tree, somewhat in the manner of the Magpie. It is frequently 
 heard ai night even when it is wet and dark. On the 9th 
 of Maj 1846, 1 heard two uttering the note with the prefix. 
 
OUCKOO. 16? 
 
 for nearly a quarter of an hour. The Cuckoo feeds on moths, 
 dragonflies, and hairy caterpillars . I believe few birds will eat 
 the larva of the sawfly of the gooseberry, but I once saw five 
 Cuckoos together in my garden busily thus engaged. These 
 birds are perfectly harmless, yet the keepers constantly kill 
 them, no doubt mistaking them for Hawks. There has been 
 great discussion as to how the bird contrives to place its egg 
 in the nest, which is often so built, or situated, that it would 
 be impossible for it to adopt the usual method ; it is, how- 
 ever, now indisputably settled that it conveys it in its mouth. 
 Formerly, when a Cuckoo was shot while on this errand, 
 the broken egg in its mouth caused it to be suspected of 
 robbing other birds' nests. According to the nursery rhyme, 
 " It sucks little birds' eggs to make it sing clear." I have 
 occasionally found the Cuckoo's egg in the nest of the 
 Chaffinch and Greenfinch, and in that of the Pied Wagtail ; 
 but those of the Hedge- Sparrow, the Robin, the various 
 Pipits, and the Reed -Warbler, seem to be usually preferred. 
 The Cuckoo has generally left us by the end of July, though 
 an occasional bird, usually young, may be observed late in 
 September. 
 
 It is generally diffused all over the county, but prefers 
 open heaths, especially those where there are scattered 
 timber trees'. It is also partial to marshy land. When 
 uttering its note, it usually sits horizontally on a bough. Its 
 mode of flight, and its general appearance, are so much like 
 those of a Hawk that it is much persecuted by small birds, 
 for which they, like the gamekeeper, no doubt mistake it, 
 and, perhaps for that reason, it is very shy and retiring. In 
 the numerous eggs which I have seen, there has been very 
 little variation in colour, some being slightly redder than 
 others. I took one, at Cowfold, from a Hedge-Sparrow's 
 nest, which was as large as that of the Alpine Accentor, and 
 of the same colour as that of the Hedge-Sparrow, of which 
 
108 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 I at first thought it a double-yolked specimen, which it was 
 not, and several naturalists agree with me that it is that of 
 a Cuckoo. 
 
 HOOPOE. 
 
 TIpwpa epcyps. 
 
 This species makes its appearance almost every spring, prin- 
 cipally in April, and again pays us an autumnal visit. Its 
 occurrences are too numerous to need individual notice, and 
 it has in very few instances bred in the county. The earliest 
 on record, that I am aware of, was at Southwick, near Shore- 
 ham, where a pair hatched their young in a hole in an ash- 
 tree on the village green. They were for some time in the 
 possession of Mr. Waring Kidd, of Brighton. I visited the 
 spot, and examined the remains of the nest, which was on a 
 bed of rotten wood, quite soaked with a most horribly 
 odorous mass of putrid matter. In another instance, a pair 
 hatched their young in a tree at Park End, Chichester, about 
 the year 1835, as is recorded by Mr. Jesse in his ' Gleanings ' 
 (vol. iii, p. 148) . 
 
 I saw an example of this bird on my lawn, on the 14th of 
 April 1882, and watched it for some time searching for food 
 among the grass, using its bill as a man would a pickaxe, 
 which instrument, supposing the head and neck to form the 
 handle, and the bill and folded crest the rest of the tool, was 
 thereby not badly represented. I did not hear it utter any 
 note, nor did I see it erect its crest. When disturbed, its 
 flight greatly resembled that of the Jay, but was more 
 buoyant. 
 
HOOPOE.— ROLLER. 169 
 
 I was told afterwards tliat either this or another Hoopoe 
 was seen running about in an adjoining meadow, on the 29th 
 of the same month. It is a very filthy feeder, delighting in 
 searching in noisome manure heaps for grubs or beetles, for 
 which it also frequents willows and other trees, probing the 
 perforations made by these insects , it also feeds on earth- 
 worms, often running round in circles, trampling down the 
 grass to bring them to the surface. 
 
 When I was quite a boy, I made my first acquaintance 
 with the Hoopoe in this way : I was at a farmhouse when 
 the tenant brought in a Hoopoe, which he had just shot in 
 a wood close by. His wife said, " It is a pretty bird and 
 ought to be kept ;" to whom he replied, " Hang it up in the 
 chimney by the side of the bacon," which was accordingly 
 done. Many years after I saw it again, and was told that 
 it had just been brushed over with a hat-brush. It was still 
 in fair condition, though rather spoilt by the smoke. 
 
 CORACIID^. 
 
 ROLLER. 
 
 Coracias garrulus. 
 
 This very rare visitor has made its appearance in Sussex, but 
 the notices are few and far between. From Yarrell's 
 ' British Birds ' we learn that, in the countries of which it is 
 a native, it frequents the woods and is very shy, and is 
 generally seen passing from one dead tree to another in 
 search of Coleoptera, uttering in its flight a loud cry resem- 
 bling the words " Rack-rack-rack." It also feeds on frogs. 
 The nest is commonly placed in a hollow tree, occasionally 
 
170 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 in a hole in a bank, or wall, using a bedding of roots and 
 grass, or feathers and hair,- on which it places the eggs. It 
 has obtained its name from a habit of rolling over in its flight. 
 The earliest record of this species in Sussex is that of Hill 
 (Hist. Anim. p. 369), who states that one was seen by him 
 in Charlton Forest in 1752. Markwick, in his Catalogue of 
 Sussex Birds, read before the Liunean Society (1795), merely 
 says, " A bird of this species was killed in this neighbour- 
 hood." Mr. Knox records an example shot by Mr. Tomsett, 
 near Alfriston, and another shot in July 1843, on Chinton 
 Farm, near Cuckmerehaven. In the 'Zoologist' (p. 2497) 
 there is a notice of a specimen shot on the 29th of May, 
 near Nutley, on the borders of Ashdown Forest, which 
 proved on dissection to be a male, and a cockchafer, with the 
 remains of other large Coleoptera, was found in its stomach. 
 I am informed by Mr. Dunlop, Vicar of Henfield, that this 
 specimen is now in the possession of Mrs. Day, of Uckfield 
 • House, and was shot by Mr. John Bennet, for whom Mr. 
 May, naturalist, of East Grinstead, informs me that he 
 mounted it. Mr, Monk has recorded a Roller which was 
 killed at Isfield, on June 12th, 1870, and purchased by Mr. 
 McQueen, of Chailey, who presented it to him. On dissec- 
 tion, the only thing found in its stomach was a small cock- 
 chafer (Zoologist, p. 2224). 
 
 MEEOFID^. 
 BEE-EATER. 
 
 Merops apiaster. 
 
 I HAVE only heard of three instances of the occurrence of 
 this species in Sassex. The first was shot by Sergeant 
 
BEE-EATER.— KINGFISHER. 171 
 
 Carter, near Chichesterj in May 1829, and is mentioned by 
 Mr. Knox (0. R. p. 219). The second, which does not seem 
 to have been recorded in any journal, is thus mentioned in a 
 note to the ' Catalogue of British Birds,' sold at Godalmiug 
 in March 1890 : — " This rare bird was obtained from a person 
 who found it on the sea-shore between Arundel and Worthing 
 in 1833." The third was shot at Icklesham in A-ugust 1834, 
 but not recorded in the ' Zoologist ' till 1850 (p. 2953) . It 
 was mounted by Mr. Martin, of Hastings, and purchased by 
 Mr. EUman, from whom it passed into my collection. 
 
 The Bee-eater frequents the South of Europe, and breeds, 
 often in large numbers together, in holes in banks, or sand- 
 hills, excavating them to the depth of three or four feet, 
 enlarging them into a chamber of about a foot in diameter, 
 and lays on the bare soil. The legs and wing-cases of the 
 insects on which it feeds, which are the castings of the 
 bird, accumulate in such quantities that a handful may be 
 taken up at once. It feeds on humble-bees, wasps, grass- 
 hoppers, and many kinds of beetles. Its flight resembles 
 that of the Swallow, and its note has been described as a 
 rich warbling chirp. (See Yarrell's ' British Birds,' vol. ii. 
 pp. 421-2.) 
 
 ALOEDINID^. 
 
 KINGFISHER. 
 
 Alcedo ispida. 
 
 Though rather local, the Kingfisher is found throughout the 
 county, following the courses of the streams and haunting 
 the large ponds of the forest and Weald, visiting as well the 
 
172 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 small pits which are scattered about the county. Its flight 
 is exceedingly rapid. It feeds principally on small fresh- 
 water fishj for which it may often be seen watching, perched 
 on an overhanging bough, and is then very confiding. I 
 have known it to sit for some time on a fishing-rod stuck 
 into a bank close to me ; on perceiving a fish, it will dash 
 down and seize it, generally by the middle, and either carry 
 it off, or swallow it head first. 
 
 It often hovers over the water for a few seconds before 
 descending on the fish. It is partial to little drains in the 
 salt-marshes near the sea, where it follows the ebbing tides, 
 and pounces on the small Crustacea which it finds there. I 
 have now and then seen it in Shoreham Harbour, or flying 
 across the beach between that and the sea. It also feeds on 
 water-beetles, dragonflies, and other insects. Occasionally, 
 it appropriates the deserted hole of a water-rat, from one of 
 which I dug a nest, close to the Hammer Pond, near Horsham, 
 sometimes very little above the surface of the water, but 
 more commonly it excavates one itself in a bank, sometimes ia 
 in a dry sand-pit, and only large enough to admit itself, and 
 from two, to five or six, feet deep, sloping upwards, and ter- 
 minating in a small chamber. There it forms a cup-shaped 
 nest of its own castings of fish-bones, which smell abomiaably ; 
 the passage to the nest being always, after the hatching of 
 the young, flowing with putrid matter, and swarming with 
 fleas. The note is shrill and piping, uttered as it follows the 
 windings of the stream, or flies up and down a pond. The 
 young assemble on a branch overhanging the water, while 
 waiting for their food, and they then keep up a shrill twitter- 
 ing. In confiinement, the Kingfisher is very pugnacious. 
 The feathers are in great request for making artificial flies, 
 and, from the brilliancy of its plumage, it is a favourite orna- 
 ment in the head-dresses of the ladies, whence its numbers 
 are rapidly diminishing. In some of the Sussex farmhouses 
 
KINGFISHEE.— GREEN WOODPECKER. 173 
 
 one of these birds may be seen suspended by a string from 
 the ceiling, the idea being that the bUl always points in the 
 direction of the wind. 
 
 PICID^. 
 
 GEEEN WOODPECKER. 
 
 Oecinus viridis. 
 
 This, the largest and commonest of the British species, is 
 found wherever there is old timber, frequentiag the outer 
 edges of the woods and the open glades, rather than the 
 thicker portions, as well as the scattered trees of our parks. 
 It climbs with great facility, and diligently searches the 
 crevices in the bark of the trunk and the large limbs. It 
 bores a truly circular hole, deep iato the timber, in which it 
 lays its eggs on the rotten wood and those chips which are 
 not thrown out, forming no other nest. 
 
 Notwithstanding its large size and its powerful bill, it is 
 often dispossessed by the Starling. In the summer it may 
 frequently be seen on the ground, probiag with its long tongue 
 the nests of the ants ; its motions then resemble those of a 
 Parrot. I have several times watched both the old birds and 
 their young thus employed. Its flight is undulating, and in 
 passing from tree to tree it utters a loud laughing cry, in 
 some degree like the neighing of a horse, and on this account 
 it has acquired the name of " YaflBl." It is also, from its 
 uttering it most frequently in stormy weather, known as the 
 " Eain Bird." It is very harndess, seldom attacking the 
 sounder parts of the wood. When perforating the tree, its 
 tail may be observed to be constantly twisting round and 
 round, as if polishing the surface of the wood. 
 
174 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 GKEATEE SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 
 
 Dendrocopus major. 
 
 This species is not nearly so abundant as the last^ but may 
 be met with, occasionally where there are pollard trees^ par- 
 ticularly the willow and alder, not affecting the large timber 
 so much as G. viridis. It is fond of fruit as well as of nuts, 
 beech-mast, and other seeds. Insects, however, are its prin- 
 cipal food, and for them it may be heard constantly striking 
 the higher branches, to which it chiefly confines itself. It bores 
 holes about two inches in diameter, sometimes to a great 
 depth, and, if the tree is suitable, it may be found regularly 
 riddled with them, and the ground strewn with the chips. 
 
 It has several distinct notes, and is very vociferous in the 
 spring. It usually forms its nesting-place in a hole of its 
 own making, but occasionally uses any suitable hollow, lay- 
 ing its eggs on the decayed wood and chips. 
 
 It receives an accession from abroad in December. Of 
 this, a remarkable instance occurred in the neighbourhood 
 of Brighton in that month of 1889, when the visitors even 
 entered the gardens in the town, and were found ia many 
 parts of the Weald, not usually frequented by them. I am 
 not aware that it has any local name. 
 
 LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 
 
 Dendrocopus minor. 
 
 From its very small size, and from its predilection, except in 
 the breeding-season, for lofty trees, especially the elm, this 
 bird, though more generally diffused than D. mt.Jor, is much 
 
LESSER SPOTTED ■WOODPECKER.— WRYNECK. 175 
 
 more rarely seen, and, were it not for the constant jarring of 
 the bill against the branches, might altogether escape notice. 
 In the breeding-season, although it probably nests in the 
 higher parts of trees as well, it occasionally makes its hole 
 quite low down in a fruit-tree, and sometimes close to a 
 dwelling, and this, as might be expected, is very small, little 
 exceeding an inch and a quarter in diameter. Its food con- 
 sists entirely of insects, and I have never seen it on the 
 ground. It has a loud note, resembling kink, kink, often 
 repeated, as it sits upright on the topmost shoot of a tree. 
 It does not seem to have any local name in this county. 
 
 WRYNECK. 
 
 lynx torquilla. 
 
 Arkiving in April a little before the Cuckoo, the Wryneck 
 has obtained the name of the " Cuckooes Mate,^^ and its note, 
 much resembling that of the Kestrel, is one of the earliest 
 to be heard. It is also called in Sussex the " Peel Bird " 
 or "Rinding Bird,^^ from its giving notice that it is time to 
 commence the flaying of the oak bark. It has acquired the 
 name of Wryneck, from the peculiar habit of sunning itself 
 on the point of a branch, and contorting its neck in an extra- 
 ordinary manner, pointing its bill straight up, and ruffling 
 up its feathers. It feeds entirely on insects, and, like the 
 Green Woodpecker, is fond of collecting the ants and their 
 eggs, by means of the adhesive secretion on its tongue. It 
 never makes any nest, but lays its eggs on the rotten wood in 
 a natural hole, frequently in some fruit-tree. In one instance 
 a friend of mine amused himself by taking one egg every 
 morning till he had obtained no less than twenty-two *. 
 
 * It is curious that the same number was taken by Mr. Salmon (vide 
 Mag. Nat. Hist. vii. pp. 465, 466). 
 
176 THE BIEDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 Though a weat and defenceless hixdj it is very tenacious of 
 its abode, repelling any attack on it with a loud, snake-like 
 hissing, and from this, and from the contortions of its neck, it 
 has acquired the further title of the " Snake-bird." Its flight 
 is not undulating, but straight, like that of the Finches. 
 Although the feet are formed like those of the Woodpecker, 
 it is seldom seen to climb, and the feathers of the tail are 
 soft and flexible. 
 
 COLUMB-ffil. 
 
 COLUMBID^. 
 
 KING-DOVE. 
 
 Columba palumbus. 
 
 The Ring-Dove is generally known as the Wood-Pigeon, and 
 is very common, and strictly monogamous. It inhabits the 
 woods, but in the breeding-season often comes into gardens, 
 and is then very tame, walking about on lawns close to 
 houses. One has often come within a few feet of me when 
 I have been sitting perfectly quiet, though at other times it 
 is very wild, watchful, and difiScult to get a shot at. It 
 builds a mere platform of small sticks, so slightly put together 
 that the eggs may sometimes be seen from below. 
 
 It breeds very early, and very late. I have shot young 
 birds in October that could merely fly from tree to tree. 
 The usual site of the nest is in thick ivy on the trunk of a 
 tree, but I have in two instances observed it in ivy against a 
 house. It often nests in a thick fir, particularly spruce. 
 
 The note is well described in Yarrell's ' British Birds ' by 
 
RING-DOVE.— STOCK-DOVE. 177 
 
 the syllables " coo-roo-coo-c66/' laying great stress on the 
 second. 
 
 It is fond of gooseberries, but its usual food is beech-mast, 
 acorns, and corn, as well as turnips, to which it does great 
 harm by scooping out the pulp, leaving large holes, thus 
 admitting the water, and causing the roots to decay. It eats 
 the seeds of many noxious weeds, particularly those of the 
 kelk, or charlock (Sinapis arvensis), and is very fond of those 
 of the buttercup [Ranunculus acris), as well as of the berries 
 of the holly and the yew. 
 
 In the breeding-season it has a peculiarly buoyant flight, 
 rising and falling in the air in a series of arcs. 
 
 STOCK-DOVE. 
 
 Columha cenas. 
 
 The name Stock-Dove has been supposed to be derived from 
 the mistaken idea that this species is the origin of the 
 domestic pigeon, which however is not the case, but it has 
 been given to this bird from its breeding, not in the branches, 
 but in the stock of a tree, placing its nest, composed of 
 sticks, in holes of large timber, especially of the beech. It 
 breeds in those of St. Leonards Forest, one of which I found 
 tenanted by the Brown Owl in the middle, the Stock-Dove 
 higher up, and the Jackdaw highest of all. I have also 
 known it to build in Spanish chestnut, pollard oak, and fir 
 trees, in the Parks of Petworth, West Grinstead, Parham, 
 and Stanmer, also among the ivy on a tree at Barrow Hill, 
 Henfield. A pair bred for several years in a thick mass of 
 it on my own house at Cowfold, and thence, on the ivy dying 
 away, they removed to that on an oak tree about a hundred 
 yards off. A pair also have long bred just below a window 
 
i?8 THE BliRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 in front of the house at Oakendean^ in the same parish^ as well 
 as in holes in the elms of the rookery there, and in some ash 
 pollards near the house. Its food is similar to that of the Ring- 
 Dove. Gilbert White says that it is particularly partial to 
 barley. 
 
 Mr. Booth, in his ' Rough Notes,' states that he found 
 young Stock-Doves in a Squirrel's drey, in Balcombe Forest, 
 and that they resort to rabbit burrows in the slopes of the 
 South Downs, and to holes in the face of the chalk pits of 
 Seeding and Offham. Mr. Jeffery, in his P. N., says that 
 it breeds in Stoke Park, and in the old yew trees at Kingly 
 Vale. 
 
 It is of late years much more diffused over the county than 
 formerly, assembliag in large flocks in the winter. It does 
 not coo, but utters a prolonged rumbling sound. 
 
 Mr. J. H. Gumey, in Transactions of the Norfolk and 
 Norwich Naturalists' Society, vol. iii. p. 173, says : — "The 
 Stock-Dove breeds in the cliffs of Fairlight. I was sure of 
 this in 1879, having frequently seen Pigeons fly out of the 
 clifEs, but could never be certain if they were Stock-Doves 
 or Tame Pigeons j but this year I saw them near enough to 
 be quite certain about them, and should say that there were 
 three or four pair nesting between the Glen of Ecclesboume 
 and the Glen of Fairlight. At Hurstmonceaux Castle, where 
 they also breed, and where there is a large garden, I am told 
 they do great harm to the young cabbages." 
 
 ROCK-DOVE. 
 
 Colvmha livia. 
 
 I DOUBT whether the Rock-Dove ever breeds in Sussex, the 
 deep caves agreeable to its habits not existing ia our cliffs. 
 
ROCK-DOVE.— TURTLE-DOVE. 179 
 
 It has been obtained very rarely. I can only give the follow- 
 ing instances : — Mr. EUman informed me that one was shot 
 by Mr. Vidler, near Pevensey, in February 1853. Mr. Button 
 records another shot near Bell Tout Lighthouse^ iu January 
 1865, and a third at Holywellj near Hastings (' Zoologist/ 
 p. 9578). I found them abundant on the coast of co. Mayo, 
 and had an opportunity of observing the marvellous rapidity 
 of their flight when dashing out of the caves in the rocks of 
 that iron-bound coast. This species is considered to be the 
 progenitor of the domestic Pigeon. 
 
 TURTLE-DOVE. 
 
 Turtur communis. 
 
 This beautiful Dove is migratory, appearing iu May and 
 leaving us eai-ly in October. It breeds in the underwoods of 
 our copses and shaws, and lays its eggs on a platform of 
 small sticks so loosely constructed that they may often be 
 seen through it, and seldom at any great height from the 
 ground. It is very fond of salt, and may often be observed 
 in little flocks on the salt-marshes. Feeding on corn, it after 
 the harvest frequents the stubbles, and is especially fond of 
 tares. Its note may be expressed by the syllables " ciirr ciirr." 
 Its flight is very rapid. On its first arrival seven or eight 
 may occasionally be seen together, and they assemble in the 
 latter part of September in still larger numbers, a few days 
 before they take their departure. 
 
 n2 
 
igO THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 PEDIOPHILI. 
 PTEROCLID^. 
 
 PALLAS'S SAND-GROUSE. 
 
 Syrrhaptes paradoxus. 
 
 This straggler from the Steppes of Asia made its first appear- 
 ance in Britain^ on the coast of Norfolk, in July 1859 ; the 
 great invasion, however, did not take place till 1863, and the 
 Sand-Grouse did not arrive in Sussex tiU that year, though 
 one was killed so near as New Komney in Kent in November 
 1859 (Ibis, 1864, p. 186). The flight is extremely swift, and 
 the note is described as resembling the words " truck-truck, 
 truck- truck " ; the food consists of small seeds and berries. 
 Mr. Parkin, of Halton, Hastings, in his P. N., says that a 
 specimen was caught va. the parish of Icklesham, at the 
 Camber Sandbanks, in July 1863, by a son of Lieut. Webb, 
 of the Coastguard, and was stuffed by Mr. Gasson, of Eye. 
 I was informed by Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, that a flock of 
 about thirty were seen for some days in June 1888, flying to 
 and fro from the Downs to the beach ; they were very wUd, 
 and no one could get within shot of them. He also said that 
 on June 30th two were shot near Palmer, and a solitary bird 
 on the beach at Shoreham on the 8th of November ; all these 
 examples were sent to him for preservation. Mr. JeflPery 
 tells me that a Sand-Grouse was obtained at Itchenor, near 
 Chichester, in February 1889. In the 'Zoologist' (p. 8683) 
 we read of a specimen having been shot by Mr. Pickard, of 
 Woodward Farm, Balcombe, in June 1863, from the crop of 
 which a spoonful of small seeds was taken ; and of another, 
 supposed to be a female, shot out of a flock of seven or eight 
 
PALLAS'S SAND-GROUSE.-BLAOK GROUSE. 181 
 
 near Eastbourne. (Recorded in the 'Field' by Mr. C. S. 
 White, but without date.) On p. 8683 it is mentioned that 
 a specimen was killed by coming in contact with the telegraph- 
 wire on August 29th, and was purchased by Mr. Vidler, o£ 
 Pevensey. It was a female, and its crop contained a little of 
 a peculiar grass which grows by the salt water "pells," i. e. 
 small pools, no doubt derived from the Latin palus. It 
 afterwards came into my possession. Mr. Vidler had seen a 
 party of eight, dusting ia the road, a few days previously, but 
 they disappeared before he could get his gun. 
 
 The eggs of this bird were brought to Professor Newton 
 by Mr. Bateson, who found them on the Kirgiz Steppes, where 
 he saw many nests, which were chiefly placed in hoof -prints. 
 
 GALLING. 
 
 TETRAONIDiE. 
 
 BLACK GEOUSE. 
 
 Tetrao tetrix. 
 
 The Black Cock and Grey Hen, which were formerly found 
 in scattered parties in the Forest Districts of Sussex, are, I 
 fear, now nearly extinct. 
 
 In the Forest of St. Leonards none have been heard of for 
 the last forty years, though, from Mr. Padwick, of Horsham, 
 I learn that his father once shot five or six brace in a morn- 
 ing, ia a part of the forest known as Coombe Bottom, between 
 1835 and 1840. I myself shot an old Black Cock in Lower 
 Beeding parish about 1849; it was alone, and had been 
 observed for some time. 
 
182 THE BIEDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 It is very possible that birds might have strayed over the 
 Sussex border from Wohner Forest, where their numbers 
 have been replenished since the time of Gilbert White by Sir 
 Charles Taylor, when he was the Eanger bf the forest *. More 
 likely still, from Leith Hill ia Surrey, where, about 1832, 1 
 saw as many as twenty old cocks in a pack, and have often 
 put them up in smaller numbers. In Ashdown Forest, they 
 seem to have lingered somewhat later, as, from inquiries 
 made in that district, I learn that two or three pairs were 
 seen up to about 1863 near Cuddles well and Pippinford, 
 almost the highest part of that range. In that same year, 
 1863, Mr. Turner, then Rector of Maresfield, wrote as 
 follows •.■^-" Ashdown Forest was well stocked with Black 
 Game. So numerous were these birds at the commencement 
 of the present century, that it was hardly possible to walk or 
 ride in any direction without disturbing spme of them. At 
 that time the forest was thickly covered with heath, but this 
 has been so generally cleared that the Black Game, beiag de- 
 prived of the food and shelter they so much delight in, have 
 gradually disappeared " {vide ' Sussex Archaeological Col- 
 lections,' vol. xiv. p. 63). Markwick merely states that he 
 has seen this species in St. Leonards Forest, near Horsham. 
 Mr. Knox, in O. R. p. 164, mentions having seen a few near 
 Crawley, but that they were fast decreasiag in numbers. 
 
 In the ' Zoologist,' p. 3330, Mr. EUman records that a 
 Grey Hen was caught in a wire by one of the " slippery gentle- 
 men rovers of the night," and the cock bird seen, about five 
 mUes from Lewes, October 30th, 1851. 
 
 The Black Grouse feeds on corn, heath, whortleberries, and 
 blackberries, and, ia severe weather, on buds of the willow 
 and birch, and the tips of the fir. It makes a slight nest 
 
 * There is no reason to suppose that they were extinct in the time of 
 Gilbert White. 
 
BLACK GROUSE.-PHEASANT. 183 
 
 generally on a bank, under shelter of a tuft of heath or small 
 hush. Its favourite resorts were the most boggy parts of 
 the forest, and it seemed to require a good supply of water. 
 
 Mr. Stewart Hodgson, of Lythe House, Haslemere, writing; 
 in May 1890, informs me that he had not seen any Black 
 Game on Black Down, which is in Sussex, except an old cock, 
 which he killed in the winter of 1870, for several years. He 
 kindly sent me a letter dated May 15th, 1890, from Mr. 
 James Simmons, of Haslemere, in which he states that a 
 brace were put up on Black Down this last season by the 
 hounds, and that they were the last he had seen. Mr. 
 Hodgson informs me also that many years since. Sir Charles 
 Taylor, then of HoUycombe, had a number of Black Grouse 
 from Scotland turned out, but they got away to the highest 
 part of Hind Head, that they lived some years, seeming 
 healthy, but never breeding, and that he also remembers that 
 Mr. James Fielding turned a number out on Black Down in 
 1840 with the same result. They have been of late years 
 much disturbed by the military. Mr. Allen Chandler, of 
 Churt Wynd, Farnham, states that he last saw Black Game 
 on Black Down about ten years ago. 
 
 PHASIANID-ffil. 
 
 PHEASANT. 
 
 Phasianus colchicus. 
 
 There is an ancient tradition that the Pheasant was originally 
 introduced into Greece by the Argonauts, on their return 
 from their expedition in search of the Golden Fleece, whence- 
 it gradually spread over Europe, and there is reason to sup- 
 pose that it was introduced into England by the Romans. 
 
184 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 It is now so crossed with the Chinese Ring-necked species 
 (P. torquatus) that it is extremely difiScult to obtain a speci- 
 men of the pure Colchican bird. That it was here before the 
 Norman Conquest appears certain, and the earliest record 
 may be found in the tract ' De inventione Sanctse Crucis 
 Nostrae in Monte Acuto et de ductione ejusdem apud 
 Waltham/ edited from a MS. in the British Museum by 
 Bishop Stubbs, and published in 1861. The bill of fare 
 drawn up by Harold for the Canons' households of from six 
 to seven persons, a.d. 1059, and preserved in a MS. of the 
 date of circa 1177, was as follows: — "Erant autem tales 
 pitantise unicuique canonico : a festo Sancti MichafiHs, usque 
 ad caput jejuni! (Ash Wednesday), aut xii merulse, aut ii 
 agansese [Agace, a magpie (?) Ducangel, aut ii perdices, aut 
 unus phasianus, reliquis temporibus aut ancse [Geese; Du- 
 cange\, aut gallinse." Which may be ^us translated: — 
 Such were the allowances to each Canon from Michaelmas 
 day to the beginning of the fast. Ash Wednesday : either 
 twelve blackbirds, or two magpies, or two partridges, or one 
 pheasant, at other times either geese or fowls. " Now the 
 point of this passage is that it shows that Phasianus colchicus 
 had become naturalized in England before the Norman 
 invasion ; and as the English and Danes were not the intro- 
 ducers of strange animals in any well authenticated case, it 
 offers fair presumptive evidence that it was introduced by the 
 Roman conquerors, who naturalized the Fallow Deer in 
 Britain." See Professor Boyd Dawkins, ' Ibis ' 1869, p. 358. 
 
 The first mention of the Pheasant, after the Conquest, may 
 be found in Dugdale's ' Monasticon Anglicanum.' In the 
 first year of Henry I., a.d. 1100, "The Abbot of Amesbury 
 obtained a licence to kill Pheasants.'" In Mr. Dresser's 
 * Birds of Europe ' (vol. vii. p. 87) it is stated that in the 
 time of Edward I. Pheasants were sold at Sd. a brace. 
 
 The earliest mention I have met with of Pheasants in 
 
PHEASANT. 185 
 
 Sussex is, that in 1245 the Gustos of the Bishopric of 
 Chichester was ordered to send to the King for his use at 
 Easter among other game, twenty-four Pheasants (see Sussex 
 Archeeological Collections, vol. xvii. p. 118). There are now 
 many large preserves in the county, and Pheasants are spread 
 over it in all suitahle places. As a rule they roost in .high 
 trees, hut if disturhed they will not rise from the ground 
 again the same night, concealing themselves under some thick 
 hush till morning. 
 
 A clap of thunder, or any violent explosion, will cause all 
 cock Pheasants within hearing to crow. They are poly- 
 gamous, and their usual nesting-place is on the ground, 
 though, in a few instances, they have heen known to take to 
 the deserted nest of a crow, or the, drey of a squirrel. 
 
 They will, not unfrequently, hreed with the Domestic Fowl, 
 and when the Black Grouse was to he found in Sussex, there 
 have heen a few instances of their crossing with it. The hen 
 Pheasant has heen often found to lay its eggs in the nest of 
 the Partridge. 
 
 In the nuptial season the cocks fight desperately, so much 
 so that I once witnessed a fierce and prolonged comhat, which 
 resulted in the death of one, and the retirement of the other 
 in a very dilapidated state; the former I picked up and 
 carried home. 
 
 The Pheasant feeds on insects and their larvae, particularly 
 on the wire-worm, and on com, peas, and acorns. It also 
 digs up and eats the roots of many plants, and, in gardens, 
 is very destructive to tulips and crocuses. Numerous berries 
 also form a large portion of its diet. It is very fond 
 of the fruit of the snowherry, Symphoria racemosa, and of 
 that of the Berberis acuifolia, and much appreciates salt. It 
 is subject to great variation of plumage, white and pied birds 
 being often met with. The variety called Bohemian is found 
 in a few preserves. 
 
186 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 COMMON PARTEIDGE. 
 
 Perdiw cinerea. 
 
 The Partridge is very common^ and is too generally known to 
 require much notice. It is indigenous, and pairs for the 
 season ia February. The nest is formed of grass, placed ia 
 any depression of the ground, in rough hedgerows, or open 
 fields of com or long grass. It sits very close, and when the 
 young are hatched the hen is very anxious for their safety, 
 fluttering about as if wounded, but always in so artful a 
 manner as to be able to escape as soon as the pursuer has 
 been enticed away from her brood, and they have had time to 
 disperse in all directions. There may occasionally be found 
 a whole covey in which the horse-shoe mark on the breast is 
 white, instead of chestnut ; and I once met .with a covey of 
 eight, every bird of which was of a light fawn colour, with 
 very slight rudiments of the horse- shoe mark, and shot a brace 
 of them, which I still have. 
 
 Should there be a strong breeze from the north, the sports- 
 man on the coast refrains from shooting, the Partridges being 
 liable to fly out to sea, where, in several instances, a whole 
 covey has been picked up by the flshermen. 
 
 I quote the following : — " While walking on the Marine 
 Parade at Brighton on Friday last, about two o'clock, I was 
 surprised to see a small covey of Partridges dash across the 
 esplanade, coming apparently from the direction of the sea, 
 and seemingly quite bewildered, and take refuge in the areas 
 of the houses on the Parade. Some workmen close by lost no 
 time in securing them alive. It appears to me that the birds 
 must have made an amazingly long flight to have come into 
 such a central part of the town. I never saw such a thing 
 before." (' Field,' Oct. 32, 1880.) 
 
COMMON PABTRIDGE.— EED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. 187 
 
 During the Brighton Volunteer Review^ Partridges, alarmed 
 by the movements of the troops, have flown out to sea and 
 alighted on the water, being picked up by fishermen in their 
 boats. (' Field,' December 23, 1882.) 
 
 RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. 
 
 Caccabis rufa. 
 
 This bird, generally known in Sussex as the French Partridge, 
 is said to have been introduced into England about 1770, but 
 was very rare in this county, a few being now and then met 
 with on the Downs, which were considered by sportsmen to 
 have immigrated from the Continent.* For a long time they 
 did not spread to the Weald. 
 
 Mr. Knox mentions that two coveys were hatched and 
 reared under domestic Hens, and turned down at Kirdford, 
 near Petworth, in July 1841, which suddenly disappeared 
 (O. R. p. 169). In September of the same year a covey of 
 five were found at Bolney, a brace of which were shot and 
 sent to me, by Mr. Marshall, of that place. Since that year 
 they have rapidly spread over the whole of the Weald, and 
 are considered a nuisance by sportsmen, as they spoil the 
 dogs by running long distances, and then getting up out of 
 shot. The flesh is not much esteemed for the table. They, 
 however, offer excellent sport when driven by a large party 
 of beaters. They nest in similar situations to those chosen 
 by the common species, using the same materials. Their 
 
 * I have heard that a number of these birds were turned out by one of 
 the Curzons of Parham, on the South Downs, many years ago, but I can- 
 not ascertain the date. It is very improbable that they migrated from 
 the North of France, as the species is hardly to be found there. 
 
188 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 call-note resembles the sharpening of a scythe — "chuck, 
 chuck, chucker-chucker." The Grey Partridge says "ker- 
 chupj kerchup, kerchnp." 
 
 There is a remarkable difference in the habit of the two 
 species. If a pair of Grey Partridges be made to run, they 
 will always keep together, but a pair of Frenchmen, under 
 similar circumstances, will always separate. 
 
 QUAIL. 
 
 Coturnix communis. 
 
 This little bird was formerly considered a spring-immigrant 
 only, but as there have been many instances of its occurrence 
 in the winter months, that idea must now be abandoned. Its 
 principal haunts are the South Downs, where the nest is still 
 occasionally found, but not so abundantly as formerly, when 
 bevies of them were often met with in the corn-fields and 
 turnips, both on the Downs and in those immediately adjoin- 
 ing them. It occurs but rarely in the heart of the Weald, 
 and then in September and October. When put up it flies 
 close to the ground, and if missed by the sportsman it is 
 exceedingly difficult to flush it a second time. Its flight is 
 then exceedingly rapid, and in a straight line ; but it seldom 
 flies to any great distance. It is partial also to wet and 
 rushy marsh-land, and runs very swiEtly. The call-note ("wet- 
 my-lips") is soft and dactylic, whence one of its specific 
 names was dactylisonans. It may be heard to a considerable 
 distance. Its nest is on the ground, and in the few instances 
 in which it has been found on the Weald it has been in 
 fields of wheat, clover, or grass put up for hay. Many years 
 ago my father-in-law turned down several dozen on a farm 
 
QUAIL.— LANDRAIL. 189 
 
 not far from the DownSj but never after fell in -with one of 
 them. The males are exceedingly pugnacious^ and were by 
 our ancestors much prized for exhibition in the Cock -pit. 
 The Quail is largely imported from the Continent; for the 
 table. It feeds on slugs and small seeds, and when properly 
 fed becomes exceedingly fat. Mr. Jeffery, in his P. N., men- 
 tions a Quail kiUed at Selsey on the 1st of November, 1863, 
 and another near Chichester on the 1st of February, 1866. 
 
 rULICARI^l. 
 EALLID^. 
 
 L4-NDRAIL. 
 
 Crex pratensis. 
 
 The Landrail, or Corn Crake, arrives in April, or early in 
 May, when its note, which may be imitated by drawing the 
 fingers rapidly over the teeth of a comb, may be heard in the 
 meadows and fields of corn and of clover, for which latter it 
 has a peculiar liking, probably because Helix caperata 
 abounds there. I have frequently found broken shells of 
 this species, and occasionally a whole one, in the gizzard. 
 The nest is a mere depression in the ground, lined with dry 
 herbage. 
 
 In September this species is usually met with singly or in 
 pairs, and when flushed it is very difficult to make it rise a 
 second time. Should it get to a hedge it will often, when 
 pressed by a dog, climb up into the bushes. I once happened 
 to see a Landrail close to my foot, in some thick grass, and 
 it allowed me to pick it up, and, to my surprise, appeared 
 
190 THE BIKDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 perfectly dead, though I could not see the slightest appearance 
 of its having been injured, and it was quite warm. I held it 
 by the legs, and, on swinging it about, the neck was perfectly 
 limp, and its eyes were closed. I then put it on its back on 
 my hand, and it remained motionless. I laid it down on a 
 foot-path and watched it for some five minutes, when I saw 
 it open one of its eyes, and almost immediately it ran into 
 the long grass, and, though the dog tried for it a long time, 
 I never saw it again. Since that, I found a notice of a Land- 
 rail behaving in exactly the same way, in the ' Zoologist ' 
 (p. 318 s. s.). Late in September they flock together for 
 emigration. A brother sportsman, and I, once shot four 
 brace and a half, in one clover field, and saw several more, 
 but, the clover being very wet, the dogs could not hunt 
 them, and they would not rise. I have known several 
 instances in April, of their having been, caught in the 
 gardens of Brighton, and I remember one being picked up 
 on the Chain Pier. Mr. Ellman records in 'Zoologist' 
 (p. 2419) that one was shot, and another seen, near the 
 coast just before Christmas 1849, and a third was seen 
 on the Downs near Eastbourne by Mr. Clark Kennedy in 
 November. 
 
 SPOriED CRAKE. 
 
 Porzana maruetta. 
 
 The Spotted Crake arrives in March, and as a rule leaves us 
 in October, but it has now and then been met with in the 
 winter. I shot one myself on Henfield Common in December 
 1845. It is considered rather a rare bird j though, from its 
 skulking habits, requiring a good dog to flush it, I imagine 
 
SPOTTED CEAKE.— LITTLE CEAKE. 191 
 
 it to be more common than is supposed. I have often found 
 it, when Snipe-shooting, on Henfield Common, especially in 
 October, though I have never met with, or heard of, the nest 
 in Sussex. 
 
 I have often shot the adult bird in the county, and on two 
 occasions, in September, obtained an immature example on 
 the aforesaid Common. It principally resorts to wet and 
 boggy places, where it conceals itself among the thickest 
 herbage, and feeds on moUusks, water-insects, and small 
 seeds, particularly those of the reed. It also frequents the 
 weedy banks of streams and large ponds. The nest is built on 
 wet ground, formed of aquatic plants and some finer materials. 
 
 LITTLE CRAKE. 
 
 Porzana parva. 
 
 As the greater number of examples of this species which have 
 been met with in England have occurred in April or May, it 
 may be presumed to be migratory, and from its frequenting 
 similar situations, its food and habits are probably the same 
 as those of its congeners. 
 
 The bird described by Markwick as the Spotted Gallinule, 
 in Trans. Linn. Soc. (vol. iv. p. 9), which was shot by the 
 side of a mill-pond at Catsfield, near Battle, in March 1791, 
 turns out to have been the Little Crake, Porzana parva, of 
 YarreU. This interesting fact has lately been made known 
 by Mr. Harting (Zoologist, 1890, pp. 343-344), in a notice of 
 ah unpublished manuscript by Markwick, now in the library 
 of the Linnean Society, where there is also a coloured figure 
 representing Porzana parva. 
 
 Two specimens have come into my own possession. The 
 first was taken alive near Seeding chalk-pit, on the banks of 
 
192 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 the Adurj near Shoreham, in Octoljer 1855. The second was 
 obtained ia the following remarkable manner : — Two men, 
 one only having a gun, were hunting for Moorhens, on the 
 14th of April 1869, in some reedy brick-pits near Eastbourne, 
 with a spaniel. The man without a gun staying behind, the 
 dog routed out a Little Crake, which flew towards him. He 
 threw his " wide-awake " hat at it, whereon the bird followed 
 it down and ran into it, and he took it alive. I soon after pur- 
 chased it of Mr. Bates, the Naturalist, of Eastbourne. It is 
 recorded in YarreU's B. B. (vol. iii. p. 149) . A fourth example 
 is mentioned by Mr. Knox as in the possession of the landlord 
 of the Dolphin Hotel, Shoreham, who shot it in that neigh- 
 bourhood (O. R. 240) . A fifth was picked up, in an exhausted 
 state, near Seaford ia March 1848, and brought to Mr. 
 EUman (Zoologist, p. 2148). A sixth was brought for pre- 
 servation to Mr. Kent, a bird-stuffer at Hastings, in April 
 1859, p. 6537 ; and Mr. Dutton mentions a seventh, caught 
 in Pevensey Marsh, in 1863, and seen by him in the flesh 
 (Zoologist, p. 8330). 
 
 BAILLON'S CRAKE. 
 
 Porzana dailloni. 
 
 The only example of this rare Crake which has occurred in 
 Sussex is thus recorded in the ' Zoologist ' (p. 4159, s. s.) by 
 Captain Clark Kennedy, while staying at Eastbourne: — "An 
 adult female was captured in this neighbourhood, on the sixth 
 of August 1874, in a very exhausted and emaciated condition. 
 It contained in its ovary eggs about the size of pins' heads." 
 
WATER-EAIL. 198 
 
 WATER-RAIL. 
 
 Ballus aquaticus. 
 
 The Water-Rail is generally distributed^ and may be found 
 in the coarse herbage bordering streams and ditches. It is 
 resident, though it seems very susceptible of cold, as I have 
 several times, in very severe weather, observed it standing on 
 one leg, ■with its feathers puffed out, and its head sunk 
 between its shoulders, apparently asleep, for it has suffered 
 me to take it in my hand. It feeds on small fish, tadpoles, 
 mollusks, insects, and seeds. When pressed by a dog it often 
 scrambles up into a bush, and I once observed a wounded one 
 walking on the horizontal limb of an oak about 20 feet from 
 the ground. From the gizzard I took several perfect speci- 
 mens of Clausilia nigricans and the broken shells of Aplesnus 
 hypnorwn. Its flight is slow, the legs hanging down. I 
 once found a nest, in a very wet spot on Henfield Common, 
 composed of green flags, and lined with finer aquatic plants, 
 containing nine eggs. It has many times, in April and 
 October, been caught in the gardens and streets of Brighton. 
 Its call-note is a loud, hoarse, half-choked whistle, uttered 
 principally at night. 
 
 It runs very swiftly, and swims well, if requisite. Mr. 
 Jeffery (P. N.) states that he has found several small Millers' 
 Thumbs [Coitus gobio) in its interior, and also mentions that 
 a nest was found near Up Park, on a heath at a distance 
 from water, pretty well concealed, but having a run to and 
 from it. Mr. Harting informs me that he has twice found 
 the nest of the Water-Rail in the parish of Harting, where 
 he has repeatedly seen the bird during the winter months, 
 sometimes running, like a rat, along the side of a ditch ; at 
 others, flushed by the dogs in the swampy ground bordering 
 
194 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 the G-reat Pond. Mr. Harper, of Norwich, says that he had 
 found in one of these birds a full-grown Common Shrew 
 (Zoologist, p. 3990), and in p. 215, 1882, is recorded an 
 instance of its feigning death. 
 
 MOORHEN. 
 
 Qallinula chloropus. 
 
 This, also known as the Waterhen, is the commonest of all 
 the Rallida, and there is scarcely a pond or stream in the 
 county where it may not be found. Though somewhat wary, 
 it is not nearly so much given to concealment as its con- 
 geners, and swims and dives with the greatest facility. 
 
 It often visits ponds in the neighbourhBod of houses, and 
 becomes occasionally very tame, even feeding with the 
 domestic fowls. At Cowfold Vicarage several of these birds 
 would come regularly, on hearing the bell at meal-times, to 
 pick up whatever was thrown from the window, and were 
 especially fond of boiled potatoes. I have seen one actually 
 sitting on the back of a large dog lying on the doorstep there. 
 It was very remarkable that this dog, though it would eagerly 
 hunt the Moorhens in other places, was on the best of terms 
 with those of the Vicarage, and never molested them. They 
 will often wander about the meadows on the borders of 
 streams and ponds, in search of worms, &c. They also feed 
 on various insects and small fish. The nest is generally 
 placed in the flags, or coarse herbage by the side of water, 
 or on the branches of a tree overhanging it. I have found 
 it, too, on the heads of pollards by the water-side, and once 
 in the deserted nest of a Magpie, in a thick hawthorn, some 
 ten feet from the ground. A Moorhen bred for several years 
 
MOOEHEN. 195 
 
 on the head of an old weeping willow, which had fallen into 
 the pond at the aforesaid Vicarage. The nest is generally 
 formed of coarse aquatic plants, and lined with softer portions 
 of the same, but I knew of one placed on a stack of pease 
 haulm, of which material it was entirely composed. 
 
 In walking, the bird constantly flirts up the tail, showing 
 the white feathers, as it also does when swimming, nodding 
 its head at every stroke of its feet. Its flight is heavy and 
 slow, with the feet hanging down, and is seldom extended to 
 any great distance, but at night it often flies round in large 
 circles, uttering from time to time a loud note resembling 
 the syllables, "tak-a-ma-hak." In severe weather it takes 
 to running water, and often seeks for worms, &c., among the 
 dry leaves, proceeding up the ditches into the wider woods. 
 It perches at times on trees, and climbs the bushes with the 
 greatest ease. When suddenly disturbed, it will sink bodily 
 in the water, and, after a little while, a patient watcher may 
 see the head and neck raised above the surface, and, looking 
 round, the bird will rise suddenly and take itself ofl'. 
 
 The curious so-called " hairy " va,riety of the Moorhen has 
 twice occurred in Sussex, and the specimens are recorded by 
 Mr. J. H. Gurney in the Transactions of the Norfolk and 
 Norwich Naturalists' Society, vol. iii. pp. 581-587, in which 
 he also gives a figure. One of these was obtained at Plump- 
 ton, near Brighton, in November 1878, of which Mr. Gurney 
 observes : " This is the lightest I have seen, the underparts 
 being quite white, and the back a bright orange-red, and this 
 is the most hair-like.'^ I saw this specimen myself at Mr. 
 Swaysland''s. The other was obtained at Isfield, near Lewes, 
 in March 1883, and was purchased by Colonel King. The 
 pecuHarity of the appearance of the birds is due to the loss 
 of the cuticle of the plumage, carrying with it the bar- 
 bicules which give the soft look to feathers, and so leaving 
 a worn threadbare sui-face; but from what cause this decor- 
 
 o3 
 
196 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 tication arises is wholly unknown. The colour of some speci- 
 mens in this state is much tinged with yellow. 
 
 COOT. 
 
 Fulica atra. 
 
 Fkom the white plate on the forehead, I have heard the Coot 
 called the Bald Coot. It is by no means uncommon in 
 Sussex, but much more maritime than the others of its 
 family, keeping to the open sea in large flocks, in quiet 
 weather, but when it is rough, betaking itself to our harbours 
 and estuaries for shelter. As the breeding-season approaches, 
 it comes inland to many of the large ponds, preferring those 
 abounding in reeds ; there it forms a large semi-floating nest 
 of flags and broken reeds, on a platform of the latter, that 
 have been broken down by the wind. Sometimes, when the 
 water is shallow, it builds its nest.up, fi:om.the bottom, occa- 
 sionally collecting a very large mass, faisirtg it still higher on 
 the approach of a flood. When wounded, the Coot requires 
 careful handling, as it will scratch like a cat. On the wing 
 the flight is powerful, the legs being stretched out behind it 
 like those of a Heron. They feed on many fish and on vege- 
 tables. I have often watched the old birds from the Covered 
 Bridge at Lucerne, where they are very tame, diving and 
 bringing up green weeds for the young from! the, bottom of 
 the lake. The water being exceedingly cleaj,. they may be 
 seen to, use their wings beneath the surface as if in flight. 
 The Coot is not much esteemed in England for the table, 
 but many are exposed for sale in Continental markets, 
 though the .flesh is very strong and oily ; yet, if carefully 
 prepared, and buried for a few hours in the ground, it is by 
 no means unpalatable, being very white and juicy. 
 
COOT.— CRANE. 197 
 
 The Coot flies much at night, like the Wild Duck, but the 
 two present a very different appearance on the wing, even 
 when it is too dark to distinguish colour. Both fly with 
 out-stretched necks, but the shorter-winged Coot, with 
 longer legs, carried out behind like a tail, may always be 
 distinguished from the sharper-winged and longer-necked 
 Duck. 
 
 ALECTORIDES. 
 
 GRUID-ffil. 
 
 CRANE. 
 
 Grus communis. 
 
 Though formerly not uncommon, the Crane has now become 
 a rare straggler. In the good old days of Falconry, and before 
 the draining of the Fens, it bred freely in this country, and 
 was strictly preserved for that sport. The nest is formed of 
 long sedgy grass and very small twigs, placed on the ground. 
 I have only heard of the occurrence of the Crane in Sussex 
 on two occasions. One was shot by a butcher of the name of 
 GeeriQg, in Pevensey Level in May 1849, and was sent to Mr. 
 EUman, who recorded it in the 'Zoologist' (p. 3034). I 
 afterwards purchased it from him, and it is still in my collec- 
 tion. It was a female, though recorded by Mr. Ellman as a 
 male, and was in good condition, the only shot-mark found 
 on the skin being that of a single corn, which had passed 
 through the head. The other example I saw in the flesh the 
 day after it was shot, at Pagham, October 18th, 1854. This 
 was also in good condition, and was an immature female, the 
 elongated plumes on the hinder part being only two or three 
 
198 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 on each side. The neck was much stained with rusty brown. 
 It is preserved in the museiun at Chichester, and recorded 
 by myself in the 'Zoologist ' (p. 4512). 
 
 The taking of the eggs of the Crane was prohibited by an 
 Act passed in 1534, under the maximum penalty of 20d. for 
 every egg. 
 
 The Crane appears to have been much prized for the table, 
 as in the ' Household Book ' of the fifth Earl of Northum- 
 berland (1513) occiirs this entry : " It is thought the Cranys 
 must be hadde at Chrystymas and other principal feestes for 
 my Lord's owne mees, so they be bought at 15d. a piece." 
 Nevertheless, the learned Dr. Mouffet, in his ' Health's Im- 
 provement,' edited by Christopher Bennet, Ph.D., 1655, 
 considers " the flesh (of the Crane) distinctly unfit for sound 
 men's tables, and much more unmeat for them that be sick ; 
 yet being young, and killed with a Goshawk, and hanged for 
 two or three daies by the heels, eaten with hot gelentine, and 
 drowned in sack, it is permitted unto indifferent stomachs." 
 
 The food of the Crane appears to be com, acorns, fenny 
 seeds and bents, as well as potatoes. Its flight is described 
 as with the head and neck fully stretched out, with a re- 
 markable casting up of the wings in a direction over the 
 back after each downward stroke. The voice is loud and 
 trumpet-like. (See an interesting account of the Crane in 
 Lapland by Mr. John Wolley Junr., ' Ibis,' 1859, pp. 191- 
 198.) 
 
 I have two specimens in my own collection, which were 
 caught in Spain by wire nooses placed in a hole in the ground, 
 baited with olives. The fat is used by the Spaniards as a 
 remedy for rheumatism and bruises. 
 
GREAT BUSTARD. 199 
 
 OTIDID^. 
 
 GEEAT BUSTARD. 
 Otis tarda. 
 
 The Great Bustard was formerly well represented in Sussex. 
 Dr. John Hill, in his ' History of Animals/ published in 
 1753, writes of this species (p. 483) : — " I have seen great 
 numbers of them on the downs in Sussex ; they run away 
 at the approach of men, but rarely, and indeed difficultly, 
 take wing. They are often taken by greyhounds in a fair 
 course, ia the manner of a hare. Their flesh is very well 
 tasted." Gilbert White, writiag to Daines Barrington from 
 Ringmer, near Lewes, in October 1770, says : — " There are 
 Bustards on the wide Downs near Brighthelmstone," and 
 remarks that they look at a distance like Fallow Deer; and 
 Professor Newton tells me that he was much struck by the 
 justice of the comparison on the only occasion on which he 
 saw a wild Bustard, with neck extended at right angles to 
 the body, general " fallow " colour, and legs invisible, so 
 that there might just as well have been four as two. 
 
 The Bustard was often hunted with greyhounds by my 
 grandfather, who died at an advanced age in 1844. He told 
 me that he had had many a good course with these birds. 
 He used to go out early in the morning, after a foggy night, 
 to look for them feeding in the wet turnips, when they were 
 frequently so thoroughly soaked as to be unable to fly. He 
 generally found them in little parties of from five to ten, and 
 sometimes took five or six in a morning, commonly young 
 birds, though occasionally he had known an old one to be 
 caught, but they avoided them as much as possible, as, when 
 overtaken by the dogs, they fought savagely, and had more 
 than once damaged the greyhounds. They were most 
 
200 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 numerous on a part of the Downs between the Dyke and 
 a place known as Thunder's Barrow^ from certain ancient 
 tumuli supposed to be British. My father^ also^ while riding 
 on thcDownSj about a mile from Patcham^ fell in with nine 
 of these birds feeding in a turnip-field ; this was about the 
 year 1810. I have heard them spoken of by some of the old 
 South-down shepherds as having been often seen by them. 
 Of course the birds then bred there. 
 
 Markwick (Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. iv. p. 7) merely re- 
 marks, " Common Bustard sometimes seen on our South 
 Downs." Mr. Knox, in his O. R. (p. 223), says :— " The latest 
 instance of the Great Bustard having been observed in Sussex 
 appears to have been that of a single example which was 
 occasionally seen about twenty-four years ago near Blatching- 
 ton by Mr. Catt, who then occupied that farm. It used to 
 frequent the flat table-land which runs for a Gonsiderable dis- 
 tance in the direction of the Dyke. I have met with some 
 very old people who in their younger days have seen flocks of 
 these noble birds on the Downs.'' In Yarrell's ' British Birds ' 
 (vol. iii. p. 207) we find that on the 14th of January, 1876, a 
 female was shot on the Downs near Eastbourne, and came into 
 the possession of Mr. Monk, of Lewes ; of course the bird 
 was a straggler from the Continent. The food of Bustards 
 is grass, young com, turnip leaves, trefoil, and other vege- 
 tables, and they also kill and eat small mammals and reptiles, 
 as well as, according to Pennant, those large earthworms 
 which appear in great quantities on the Downs before sun- 
 rising in the summer. In that season they conceal them- 
 selves in the standing corn, or in high turnips. They deposit 
 their eggs in a hole scratched in the ground. Mr. Rowley, in 
 his Orn. Misc. (vol. i. p. 103), quotes the following from 
 ' Musseum Tradescantianum,' published in 1656, p. 4 : " The 
 Bustard, as big as a Turkey, usually taken by greyhounds on 
 Newmarket Heath." 
 
LITTLE BUSTARD. 201 
 
 LITTLE BUSTARD. 
 
 Otis tetrax. 
 
 The Little Bustard is a very rare straggler into Sussex^ 
 though in many parts o£ the Continent it is not uncommon^ 
 particularly in the South of France and ia Spain, and at 
 least seventy specimens have occurred in England. 
 
 It feeds on vegetable matter, field-mice and frogs, as well 
 as on worms and slugs. It runs with great rapidity. I saw 
 one, near Nimes, whose pace was as fast as that of a rabbit 
 when first started, and it kept it up across a large piece of 
 ploughed land till out of sight. The note, in the breeding- 
 season, resembles the syllables "prut, prut." This bird is 
 not polygamous, and places its nest on the ground among 
 high herbage. 
 
 The Little Bustard has been very rarely seen in Sussex, 
 and does not appear in Markwick's Catalogue. Mr. Dennis, 
 in a letter to me, dated December 9th, 1854, says, speaking 
 of a Little Bustard : — " It was shot at Cuckmere in October 
 1846, by a Coastguardsman of the name of Bull, and sold by 
 him to Mr. King, of East Blatchington, for half-a-crown. The 
 purchaser, I fancy, was doubtful of it as an edible, and gave 
 it to a painter of the name of Stent, by whom it was pre- 
 served." In March 1854 Mr. Dennis showed me the legs and 
 feet of this bird, which were all that then remained, the rest 
 of the specimen having been destroyed by moth. Mr. Knox 
 (O. K,. p. 322) says : — " I have lately seen a specimen of the 
 Little Bustard, a female, which was shot at Bosham, near 
 Chichester, a few years ago, by Mr. Alfred Cheesman ; " and 
 mentions that Mr. Jenyns, in his 'Manual of Brit. Vert. 
 An.,' states that it has occurred in Sussex, but gives no date. 
 
202 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 Two examples from this county are given in the ' Zoolo- 
 gist ' : — On December llth^ 1879, one was shot by Mr.Martin 
 Spiller^ near Eastbourne. It was in good condition, and was 
 preserved by Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton. And in the vol. for 
 1887j p. Ill, Mr. Percy E. Coombe records that a fine speci- 
 men was shot in a turnip-field by Mr. Coote, at Clymping, 
 near Arundel, in October of that year. 
 
 LIMIOOL-aS. 
 
 OlDICNEMID^. 
 
 STONE-CUELEW. 
 
 » 
 
 (Edioiemus scolopax. 
 
 This is a species still found in Sussex, principally on the 
 South Downs and other wide, uncultivated expanses, as 
 well as on the higher ridges of arable land, between the 
 Downs and the sea, occasionally also on the wide plains of 
 the interior. It was formerly much more common than it is 
 at present, and is not unfrequently met with in the winter 
 months, though generally considered a migratory bird, 
 arriving in April and remaining with us till September. 
 After the breeding-season it assembles in large flocks, and 
 is very vociferous, especially at night, and before rain. 
 
 Its note has been compared to the sound of a rusty winch, 
 such as that of a well, when the bucket is let down. It forms 
 no nest, but lays its two eggs on the open field, and both the 
 eggs and young so strongly resemble the stones, among which 
 they are almost always placed, as to be very difficult to 
 discovero 
 
STONE-CUKLEW.— DOTTEREL. 203 
 
 Its food consists of beetles, field-mice, and frogs, as well 
 as of worms and slugs. It runs with great swiftness, and is 
 much more active by night than by day ; often visiting the 
 beach at that time, for which its remarkably large eyes are 
 particularly adapted. It has been killed in the neighbour- 
 hood of Chichester, in January and December, and has been 
 occasionally met with on all parts of our coast in each of 
 the winter months, when it seeks its food among the turnips. 
 Mr. Dennis mentions that a Stone-Curlew was picked up 
 in a very emaciated state under the cliff at Seaf ord in winter, 
 and that another was put up in a piece of rape near East 
 Blatchington, on November 20tb, 1856; and I have heard 
 of several others having been killed in the winter. 
 
 CHAEADEIID^. 
 
 DOTTEREL. 
 
 Eudromias morinellus. 
 
 This species is migratory, appearing in the latter part of 
 April and mostly departing in October, though a few are 
 met with still later. They may be found on the Downs, iu 
 " trips " of from seven or eight to a dozen, and sometimes 
 in even larger numbers, and are very partial to fields of 
 young rape, and turnips, where they feed largely on the small 
 weevil-like beetles, which are so destructive to those crops. 
 They used to breed in the North of England, particularly 
 on Helvellyn and Saddleback, and still do so in Scotland — 
 making no nest, but placing their eggs, three in number, on 
 the bare ground, on the higher tops of the mountains — 
 but never in this county. They are chiefly confined to the 
 Downs, from about Brighton to a little beyond Seaford, 
 and are not found in any number in West Sussex. 
 
204 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 They run with great speed, and are very difficult to see on 
 the ground. Mr. Dennis, in notes he has kindly sent me, 
 mentions having seen and shot Dotterels from a trip of 
 thirteen, on the hill above Blatchington, on March 22nd, 
 1853, and shortly afterwards twenty were reported to him 
 as having been seen in a piece of rape, at Blackstone. On 
 April 12th, 1858, eight birds were seen by him on the 
 Blatchington hill ; on the 24th he shot a couple, and on the 
 25th three young and two old birds. Mr. Jeffery informs 
 me that three of these birds were shot at Runcton, near 
 Chichester, on May 25th, 1859, and one at Sidlesham, on 
 November 10th, 1875, and, in the same month, another at 
 Eamley. They are much esteemed for the table. 
 
 Of the name Dotterel, Camden somewhere remarks : — " So 
 called from their extreme doatishness, which occasions these 
 imitative birds to be caught by the fowlej's gestures by 
 candle-light." And in FuUer^s ' Worthies of England,^ ed. 
 folio, 1662, p. 149, maybe found the following : — "This is an 
 avis je\(OTOTroio<!, a mirthmaJcing bird, so ridiculously mimical 
 that he is easily caught (or rather catcheth himself) by his 
 overactive imitation. There is a sort of apes in India caught 
 by the natives thereof, after this manner. They dress a little 
 boy in his sight, undress him again, leave all the child's apparel 
 in the place, and then depart a competent distance. The 
 ape presently attireth himself in the same garments, till the 
 child's clothes become his chains, putting off his feet by putting 
 on his shoes, not able to run to any purpose, and so is soon 
 taken. The same humour otherwise pursued, betrayeth the 
 Dotterels. As ih.e fowler stretcheth forth his arms and legs 
 going towards the bird, the bird extendeth his legs and wings 
 approaching the fowler, till surprised in the net. But it is 
 observed that the foolisher the fowl or fish (woodcocks, 
 dotterels, cods' -heads, &c.) the finer the flesh thereof " 
 
RINGED PLOVER. 206 
 
 EINGED PLOVER. 
 
 ^gialitis hiaticula. 
 
 This is common all along the coast of the county, and may- 
 be considered resident, though partially migratory in spring 
 and autumn. It is most numerous about the mouths of 
 rivers and the muddy flats of the estuaries and harbours, 
 though it may occasionally, though rarely, be met with on 
 the sides of the larger inland ponds. I have seen it two or 
 three times at the lake in Knepp Park, and in one instance 
 an example was shot on the side of a small pond at King's 
 Farm,- in the parish of Cowf old. It has been met with at 
 the large mill-pond at Warnham, and is common by the 
 tidal ditches in Pevensey Level. In the breeding-season it 
 resorts to the large expanses of beach, especially those at 
 Rye and Shoreham, and lays its eggs, without a nest, in 
 small depressions among the shingle, where both they and 
 their young are, from their similarity to the pebbles around, 
 exceedingly difficult to discover without a dog. Mr. Booth, 
 however, found a well-formed circular nest near Rye, most 
 elaborately constructed, a hole having been scraped out in 
 the fresh green turf, in which was arranged a copious lining 
 of small white shells, which must have been transported from 
 the shingle bank, between a quarter and half a mile distant. 
 The Ringed Plover is strongly attached to its young, and 
 when they are in danger will feign lameness, and flutter 
 about to entice away the intruder. When wounded it will 
 swim and dive well. The note is a loud trisyllabic whistle, 
 generally uttered on the wing. In the winter it associates 
 in considerable flocks. 
 
 There is a small variety, or race, which arrives in May, and 
 has the mantle much darker than that of the normal Ringed 
 
208 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 Plover, and the legs of a deeper orange j the note also is quite 
 different. These small birds were especially numerous about 
 Shoreham in May 1880, and are not uncommon from 
 Chichester in the west, to Rye in the east. There can be no 
 doubt that this small race breeds on the Sussex coast, as it 
 remains from May till October, when it totally disappears, 
 yet I have never heard of any' eggs having been found, which 
 could be distinguished from those of the ordinary Ringed 
 Plover. Both feed on shrimps and other small marine 
 animals. 
 
 LITTLE RINGED PLOVEE. 
 
 Mgialitis curonica. 
 
 This little Plover is exceedingly rare in Sussex, and I have 
 seen no well-authenticated record of more than two examples 
 having been obtained. One of them is in my own collection, 
 and -was shot, many years ago, at West Wittering, in May, 
 but unfortunately I cannot give the year. Another was shot 
 by Mr. Dennis, who sends me this note : — " I shot a Little 
 Ringed Plover, together with a Redshank, at the Tide Mills 
 Creek, Bishopstone, not knowing at the time what it was ; 
 as, thoughl had repeatedly shot small specimens of the Ring 
 Dotterel, I had never met with this bird before.'^ This was 
 on August 28th, 1865. In Yarrell's ' British Birds ' (vol. iii. 
 p. 263) it is stated that the note is a sharp whistle, not like 
 that of the Common Ringed Plover, and shorter in duration ; 
 and, on p. 264 op. cit., it is observed that it very rarely 
 appears on the sea-coast, but frequents, and breeds on, the 
 banks of rivers, laying its eggs on the sand, and making no 
 nest. Its food is similar to that of the two preceding species. 
 I am not aware that it has ever bred in Britain. It may be 
 
KENTISH PLOVEE.— GOLDEN PLOVER. 207 
 
 at ouce distinguished from yE. hiatimla by the colour of the 
 shafts of the primaries, which are all dusky except the outer 
 one, which is white throughout. 
 
 In ' Zoologist,' p. 3279, Mr. Ellman states that he obtained 
 a specimen of this scarce bird, at Shoreham, at the latter 
 part of September 1851. 
 
 KENTISH PLOVER. 
 
 JEgialitis cantiana. 
 
 The wide expanses of beach, especially those about Rye 
 Harbour and Winchelsea, and those of the eastern coast 
 generally, are the favourite haunts of this Plover. It arrives 
 in these parts in April, and breeds there in May, though it 
 is not so abundant as formerly. After the breeding- season 
 it may be met with in small parties all along the shore, and 
 has been obtained in the neighbourhood of Hastings and 
 Bexhill, becoming more scarce to the westward of the county, 
 though it has occurred about Shoreham and Worthing. . It 
 does not associate with the Ringed Plover, but appears for 
 the most part singly, or in pairs, running very swiftly oq the 
 sands, and when at rest, standing much higher on the legs 
 than its congener. In its mode of nesting it resembles the 
 other small Plovers, and leaves the country by the end of 
 September. The note is a shrill whistle, quite different from 
 that of the common Ringed Plover. 
 
 GOLDEN PLOVER. 
 
 Charadrius plumalis. 
 
 The Golden Plover seldom arrives before January, during 
 which month and the following large flocks visit the Downs 
 
208 THE BIRDS OP SUSSEX. 
 
 and the marshesj often accompanying those of the Lapwing. 
 They are fond of fields of rape and turnip^ and are very 
 wary and difficult to approach. If, however, a shot can be 
 obtained on the wing, the whole body of them will frequently 
 dash down, and present an easy chance for the second barrel. 
 As its name implies,it seems to delight in wet and stormy 
 weather. In the breeding-season it retires to the mountains 
 of the north of England and Wales, and makes a slight nest 
 on the ground among the heather. In the year 1837, while 
 travelling in Wales, I found several pairs on the summit of 
 Cader Berwyn. The male birds were then exceedingly tame, 
 running swiftly from one hillock to another in a state of 
 great anxiety, and uttering a loud piping note. After watch- 
 ing patiently for about an hour, I saw a bird alight not far 
 from me, and after running a short distance it threw up its 
 wings and settled down on the nest, which I/ound to contain 
 four eggs. Soon afterwards I accidentally fell in with three 
 more nests, all with the same number of eggs. 
 
 As the breeding-season approaches, the bird undergoes an 
 extraordinary change of plumage, the whole of the under- 
 parts, as also the sides of the neck, becoming of a deep black. 
 It is very highly esteemed for the table. 
 
 GREY PLOVER. 
 
 Sguatarola helvetica. 
 
 The Grey Plover is more maritime in its habits than the 
 Lapwing or the Golden Plover, being very rarely seen at any 
 distance from the coast, and is by no means so numerous. 
 It is principally found on the mud flats, where it feeds on 
 small Crustacea and on various marine animals. Occasionally, 
 however, large flocks come into our estuaries in October and 
 
GREY PLOVER. 209 
 
 November, especially when the weather is exceptionally 
 severe. It is more usual, however, to find parties of five or 
 six. It has appeared at Pagham Harbour early in October, 
 and a few have been met with as late as May, when they 
 have assumed the nuptial plumage ; non-breeding birds have 
 even remained throughout the summer. Mr. Jeffery men- 
 tions that several were found at Pagham Harbour as late as 
 July 30, 1871, and some in summer plumage were seen in 
 August 1873, but this is very unusual. It occurs all along 
 the coast, from Eye to Chichester. 
 
 Its nidification was unknown until Middendorff found it 
 breeding in Siberia, and figured one of its eggs (Sibir. Reise, 
 II. ii. p. 309, pi. 19, fig. 1) ; and another taken by him on 
 the Taimyr, July 1st, 1833, passed into the collection of 
 Professor Newton, who described and figured it in the Proc. 
 Zool. Soc. for 1861 (p. 398, pi. 39, fig. 2). In 1875 Messrs. 
 Seebohmand Harvie-Brown found it breeding on the Tundras 
 of the Petchora. There were many nests, formed of birch 
 twigs and Iceland moss, containing four eggs each, inter- 
 mediate in colour between those of the Lapwing and the 
 Golden Plover. It feeds on small shrimps and crabs, and 
 other Crustacea, worms and green seaweed. 
 
 Its note, in the breeding-season, has been described as 
 resembling the word " kop," and, on our coasts, on rising, 
 it utters a call which may be expressed by " Tle-ih " in a 
 very high key. Respecting its qualities for the table, Yarrell 
 (vol. iii. p. 282), quoting Mufiett, gives the following: — 
 " The gray Plover is so highly esteemed that this Proverb is 
 raised of a curious and male-contented stomack, ' a gray 
 Plover cannot please him.' Yet to some the green [Golden] 
 Plover seemeth more nourishing, and to others the Lapwing, 
 which is indeed savory and light of digestion, but nothing 
 comparable to Plovers." 
 
210 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 LAPWING. 
 
 Vanellus vulgaris. 
 
 This is a residentj and by no means uncommon, frequenting 
 the dry extensive heaths, the marshes, the roughest portions 
 of uncultivated land, as "well as the South Downs, in the 
 summer. In each of these localities the nest may be found 
 as early as the middle of April, always on the barest spots 
 of the heaths, or those covered with short grass among the 
 coarser herbage of the Downs. They occasionally breed on 
 the more extensive old tracts of beach out of the reach of 
 the sea, except in the heaviest gales, and almost destitute of 
 vegetation except a few scattered plants, such as Sea Cam- 
 pion and Thrift. 
 
 They lay their eggs among the pebbles, and here the nest, 
 in all situations very slight, has only the addition of a few 
 stalks of those plants. I have found the nest, on one 
 occasion, between Shoreham and Worthing ; and Mr. Dennis 
 states that they breed on the beach eastward of Rye Har- 
 bour, in a similar locality. 
 
 The Lapwing is particularly cunning in its attempts to 
 lead away any intruder on its eggs or young : fluttering on 
 the ground, or flying round with heavily flapping wings, and 
 occasionally tumbling as if shot. 
 
 In the latter part of September, or beginning of October, 
 they collect in flocks, often of several hundred, flying from 
 place to place in loose order. At this time they especially 
 afi'ect the fields of rape or turnips, feeding on the black cater- 
 pillars known to farmers as "niggers," thus ridding the 
 crops of this most destructive pest. They feed also on 
 earthworms, slugs, and insects. Both the eggs and the birds 
 are in high demand for the table, though the flesh is not so 
 
LAPWING.— TURNSTONE. 211 
 
 much esteemed as that of the Golden Plover. In Sussex it 
 is called the " Peewit." 
 
 Mr. Booth states that he has " several times, while on the 
 North Sea in October, seen flocks of from three to five 
 hundred, flying slowly and steadily, each keeping its own 
 station, straight for the shores of Norfolk or Sufiblk." 
 Yet he had never been able to ascertain from the fishermen, 
 or light-keepers, that they had ever been observed on their 
 return journey. We certainly - receive large accessions to 
 their numbers in the winter, and, in severe weather, large 
 flocks may be seen flying along the coast, generally from 
 east to west. 
 
 TUENSTONE. 
 
 Strepsilas interpres. 
 
 This very beautiful little bird derives its name from its 
 singular habit of turning over with its bill the pebbles on 
 the beach, or other rejectamenta of the sea, at any distance 
 from which I have never heard of its being seen (possibly 
 from the small size of our rivers) in this county. Tn 
 other counties it is said to have been found on the 
 river-banks far inland. With us a few remain throughout 
 the year, but as a rule the Turnstones arrive in small parties 
 of young birds about the middle of July, though the main 
 body does not make its appearance till about the second 
 week in August. Along the whole coast, from beyond Rye 
 to the borders of Hampshire, they may be found in small 
 parties and, if not too much disturbed, are very tame. 
 
 Some years ago, I was much interested in watching a pair 
 acting in concert in their endeavours to turn over a flat-fish 
 on the beach between Shoreham and Worthing, evidently 
 
 p2 
 
212 IHB BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 for the sake of the marine animals on its underside, which, 
 I should have thought, would have been shaken off by their 
 efforts ; however, they succeeded at last in their endeavours, 
 and appeared to derive a hearty meal, and, on their leaving 
 the spot, I could find no appearance of their having eaten 
 any part of the fish. 
 
 On the beach it is very silent, but, on being put up, utters 
 a loud twittering note. It goes far north to breed. 
 
 OYSTER-CATCHEK. 
 
 Scematopus ostralegus. 
 
 In this county the Oyster-catcher is usually known as the 
 " Olive,^' of the origin of which name I have no information. 
 I have now and then heard it called the " Sea-pie," from its 
 black and white appearance. It remains with us throughout 
 the year, preferring those parts of the coast where there is 
 the largest expanse of beach. In former days I have seen 
 considerable flocks between Shoreham Harbour and the sea, 
 where it then bred, and where it is still occasionally met 
 with. Another favourite resort is the widely-spread mass 
 of shingle near Rye, where it still breeds in considerable 
 numbers. 
 
 An amusing story, how true I cannot say, is told of a man 
 who used to distribute the eggs among his daughters to hatch, 
 each of the four young ladies taking their turn with them in 
 bed, and when hatched he had a ready sale for them at 10s. 
 a piece. I well remember that about the year 1823 I often 
 saw a small flock of Oyster-catchers driven from the PavUion 
 Gardens, at Brighton, across the Steine, by a man in the 
 royal livery, armed with a long stick, having a piece of red 
 
OYSTER-CATCHER.— AVOCET. 213 
 
 cloth at the end, who took them for a few hoirrs' recreation 
 on the shore. 
 
 This species forms no actual nestj but collects a few white 
 shells, and pebbles, and now and then pieces of tobacco-pipe, 
 around the eggs. What may be the object of this, when on the 
 beach, does not easily appear, but when on the bare rock, 
 where I have often found them, it is no doubt to prevent the 
 eggs from rolling, or being blown away. 
 
 Although in Scotland, where I have seen it on the Spey 
 and other rivers, it goes far inland to breed among the flat 
 stones of the shores, I have never heard of it ialand in 
 Sussex, the muddy banks of our small rivers being unsuitable 
 to its habits. Its note is a loud whistle, which may be heard 
 a long distance, and it swims with great ease when so dis- 
 posed, and dives also. It feeds on limpets, mussels, and 
 Crustacea, prizing off the two former from the rocks with the 
 greatest ease. 
 
 Notwithstanding its name, I greatly doubt its ability to 
 open the shell of an oyster, or its power to withdraw its bill, 
 should it attempt to scoop out the animal while gaping for 
 the tide. The flesh is by no means desirable, although it is 
 stated in the ' Northumberland Household Book,' " Item : 
 Seepyes for my Lorde at the princypall Feestes, and non 
 other tyme." 
 
 SCOLOPACID^. 
 
 AVOCET. 
 
 Becurvirostra avocetta. 
 
 Owing to extensive draining, this bird, which was formerly 
 not uncommon in .the marshy districts of the county in the 
 
214 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 summer, and along the coast in the winterj has now become 
 quite extinct as a native, and I have never seen it alive 
 except in confinement. Many years ago, I was told that 
 three had been observed on the mud flats near Old Shoreham 
 bridge, and I went in hope of seeing them, though I did 
 not succeed; but walking on the mud I came to a spot 
 where I observed many zigzag marks on it, which, I have no 
 doubt, were made by these birds, as I have seen elsewhere 
 that their method of obtaining food is by passing the some- 
 what flattened portion of their whalebone-like bill over the 
 surface of the mud, thus raising the little crustaceans known 
 as sandhoppers, and catching them with the upturned point 
 of it. The Avocet is a good swimmer, and dives well. When 
 disturbed it flies round the intruder, uttering loud whistling 
 cries. 
 
 Markwick states that it was not uncommon on the sea- 
 coast of Sussex, and that he had found a young one near 
 Rye, which seemed to have been just hatched, and took it in 
 his hand, the old birds flying overhead. 
 
 Mr. Jefiery in his P. N. records that an Avocet was shot 
 in June 1859, on a tide-mill pond at Sidlesham ; and in the 
 'Zoologist,' p. 9211, he mentions another, shot on the 
 same pond, anl that this proved on dissection to be a male ; 
 the gizzard contained nothing but a few stones. 
 
 On July 14th, 1853, an adult Avocet and two others, 
 young of the year, were shot by Mr. Dennis, at the upper 
 tide-mill near Newhaven, and a few mornings after, three 
 others were obtained on the tide-mill salts. He also informs 
 me that they were very tame, and he particularly observed 
 their mode of feeding, which seemed to be by thrusting 
 their bills forward and a little upward into the softest mud, 
 where there was an inch or two of water, the bird making 
 sometimes a short and very rapid run, the webbed feet 
 being apparently excellent mud-pattens. Mr. Dodd, of 
 
AVOCET.— BLACK-WINGED STILT. 215 
 
 Chichester, told Mr. Knox {' Zoologist/ p. 329) that at a 
 late period he saw a flock of five Avocets at Pagham Har- 
 bour; he shot two and wounded another; the survivors, 
 however, did not attempt to fly away until he had advanced 
 to pick up the dead bird. He had previously observed their 
 mode of feeding, and noticed the same ploughing of the 
 sand as in the Spoonbill, but with this difference, that the 
 Avocet ploughed with the convexity of the bill. Two of 
 these are now in the Chichester Museum ; the wounded one 
 was purchased by Mr. Tuflfnell, of Mundham, and placed in 
 his garden. Here the same action was observed of plough- 
 ing, or mowing, from right to left in the grass, or rather 
 brushing it from side to side. Mr. Allen Bell, writing from 
 Hastings in January 1870 (' Zoologist,^ p. 2024, s. s.), states 
 that he was shown an Avocet in immature dress, which was 
 one out of a flock of three shot at Rye, during the snowy 
 weather of the previous December. 
 
 From the form of the bill it was formerly known in 
 Sussex as the Cobbler's Awl. 
 
 BLACK- WINGED STILT. 
 Himant&pus candidus. 
 
 This remarkable and extremely rare visitor has been ob- 
 served in the county but a few times, and at very long 
 intervals. It does not breed in Britain. In his account of 
 ' Five Months Birds'-nesting in the Eastern Atlas,' Mr. O. 
 Sahdn gives the following account of the habits of this 
 bird : — " Abundant at Zana, a few pairs occurring at Djendeli 
 and Guerah el Tharf. Over the whole of the lower end of 
 the Marsh of Zana and Chot Saboun the Stilt breeds in 
 
216 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 great abundance among the wet grass, choosing for the 
 position of its nest a small tuft, so as jnst to keep the eggs 
 out of the water. Sometimes, however, this object is not 
 obtained, as we occasionally found eggs half immersed. 
 The bird uses its long legs with much greater ease than 
 might be expected; and its long deliberate strides as it 
 walks about in search of food are far from being ungraceful. 
 The only time they seem to be in its way is at the moment 
 of taking flight, when they hang awkwardly down till the 
 bird, being fairly started, stretches them out, extending 
 them far beyond the tail. We used to search for the nests 
 of this bird on horseback, and on observing one sitting, to 
 ride up without taking our eyes off the place. The bird 
 would remain quiet till we were within thirty yards of the 
 nest, when it would walk slowly away, till, aware of our 
 purpose, it would rise and fly, wheeling and screaming 
 overhead. The young Stilt is able to walk almost imme- 
 diately on leaving the egg ; one we found was capable of 
 moving about, while the other three were struggling to free 
 themselves from the shell. The nest is composed of a few 
 bits of dead reed or grass." (See ' Ibis,' 1859, p. 360.) 
 
 It breeds also in Spain, and in many parts, of Asia and 
 Africa. Its note may be expressed by the word " pee " 
 several times repeated. Mr. E. Newman records in ' Zoolo- 
 gist,' (p. 3945) that an example was obtained at Bosham in 
 December 1855 by Mr. A. Cheesemanj and another was 
 shot on a small pond near the junction of the Midhurst and 
 Bepton Commons, May 17th,. 1859, of which Mr. Knox 
 gives an interesting account in ' The Ibis,' 1859, p. 395, from 
 .which the following is extracted : — The pond was very 
 shallow, being only about a foot deep at fifteen paces from 
 the shore, and was covered with the blossoms of the Water 
 Crowfoot, Ranunculus aquaticus, which were inhabited by 
 numerous minute Dipterous and Coleopterous insects. The 
 
BLACK-WINGED STILT.— GREY PHALAROPE. 217 
 
 bird was first observed by a farmer's boy, who was driving 
 some cows home in the evening, standing up to its belly in 
 the water, picking, as he thought^ at the flowers. It allowed 
 him to approach within twenty yards, then rising, alighted 
 again on the opposite bank. The boy then went home and 
 told his father, who, hurrying to the spot with a loaded gun, 
 found the bird still employed in picking at the flowers. It 
 was then extremely wary and shy of the gun. The man, 
 however, whose name was Pearson^ at last succeeded in 
 shooting it as it was standing up to its knees in the water, 
 snapping at the insects. It was but little injured, and was 
 brought the next morning to Mr. Knox^ who found, on 
 dissection, that it contained a number of eggs about the size 
 of a pea. The stomach was crammed with insects, and the 
 elytra of small beetles and gnats in a half digested state. 
 
 On May 6th, 1880, Mr. Clark Kennedy, being in the 
 marshes between Eastbourne and Polegate, had his attention 
 attracted by his fox terrier chasing a bird along a deep 
 ditch ; it ran with long strides for a few yards, and then 
 flew close past him, when he saw that it was a Stilt. The 
 bird appeared to be very tired, and only flew some two or 
 three yards, alighting in a similar ditch, whence he did not 
 again dislodge it (' Zoologist ' for 1880, p. 300). 
 
 GKEY PHALAEOPE. 
 
 Phalaro;pus fulicarius. 
 
 Ix some seasons this most elegant little bird visits us in 
 very large numbers. Mr. J. H. Gurney informs us that out 
 of some five hundred which had appeared in the great immi- 
 gration between August 20th and October 8th, 1866^ about 
 
218 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 two hundred and fifty were obtained in Sussex. At that 
 period they were many times observed on small pools ten or 
 twelve miles from the sea, and I was particularly interested 
 in watching one of them swimming about in an extremely 
 dirty and offensive pool, at the back of the Inn at Albourne. 
 It swam remarkably high in the water, constantly nodding 
 its head and dipping its bill, while Snapping at the numerous 
 flies with which the place was infested. It allowed me to 
 approach it within a very few yards, occasionally flying 
 close to me in perfect silence, both of wing and voice, 
 with a most graceful and bat-like flight. 
 
 There was another extraordinary immigration in the 
 autumn of 1869, when many were obtained all along the coast 
 of Sussex, and as far west as Dorsetshire. They were so tame 
 that they might be knocked on the head with an oar. In 
 the first immigration many were taken showing more or less 
 trace of the red or nuptial plumage. As a rule, when found 
 inland, they are met with singly, or at most in pairs. 
 
 This Phalarope seems quite at home, even in a rough sea, 
 where it feeds on minute animalcules, in search of wMch it 
 is incessantly nodding its head, and thrusting its bill under 
 water. It goes far north to breed, and the eggs have been 
 found in Northern Siberia and Alaska ; they are laid in a 
 mere depression in the turf. The female has the brightest 
 colour, and is Somewhat larger than the male. 
 
 RED-NECKED PHALAROPE. 
 
 Phalaropus hyperboreus. 
 
 This species is very similar in its habits to the last mentioned, 
 and though much rarer, has appeared a few times in the 
 county. It formerly bred in Orkney. 
 About the second week in September 1845, a male Red- 
 
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE.— WOODCOCK. 219 
 
 necked Phalarope was sLot on a small pond near Old Shore- 
 ham, and is now in my collection. It was in pure winter 
 plumage. On the 38th o£ May, 1846, another was obtained, 
 also on a small pond, at Palmer, the ovary containing eggs 
 in an advanced state ; this was in full nuptial plumage, and 
 had no doubt been driven out of its course by a severe gale. 
 It was very tame, swimming and dipping its bill in the water 
 like its congener. Mr. EUman, in the ' Zoologist ' (p. 3085), 
 records a third, in winter plumage, shot on a pond near 
 Lewes, in November 1851. 
 
 On October 4th, 1853, a fourth was killed on a pond ia 
 the heart of the village of Rottingdean, while swimming 
 among some tame ducks, in nearly complete winter plumage, 
 a few red feathers only appearing on the neck. This is re- 
 corded by Mr. Arthur Hussey (Zoologist, p. 4096-7). A 
 fifth example was observed, while swimming on a flooded 
 meadow near the sea, opposite the village of Bexhill. It was 
 in company with a Schinz Sandpiper, when both were 
 obtained at one shot, by Mr. Robert Kent, of St. Leonards- 
 on-Sea. They both proved males (Zoologist, p. 6537). 
 
 WOODCOCK. 
 
 Scolqpax rusticula. 
 
 This bird breeds every year in most counties of England, but 
 is comparatively scarce till the arrival of large flights in 
 October, of which the main body pass on to the westward, 
 leaving small detachments, which gradually spread over the 
 wooded parts of the county. On their first arrival many 
 drop among the furze on the South Downs, and they have 
 been several times picked up in the gardens of the towns on 
 the coast. 
 
220 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 When arriving in a heavy gale, they are generally in an 
 exhausted state, and hide themselves in most unlikely holes 
 and corners, to obtain shelter. For example, I well remem- 
 ber being told by the late Mr. Tayler, the eminent surgeon 
 at Brighton, that, on coming out of a house on the Marine 
 Parade, he saw something dash under the apron of his car- 
 riage as it stood at the door, which proved to be a Wood- 
 cock. They appear to breed in the county much more 
 commonly than formerly, when to have found a nest at all 
 was thought worthy of notice. They breed very early, nest- 
 ing in March, and by the end of May the young are fully 
 fledged. As the covers are rarely disturbed in the early 
 spring, except for marking timber or cutting hop-poles, they 
 may breed more numerously than is generally supposed. 
 " Mr. T. Monk, of Lewes, some years since, was at consider- 
 able pains to obtain statistics as to the number of Woodcocks 
 remaining to breed in the eastern division of Sussex ; and, 
 extraordinary as it may appear, the conclusion he arrived at 
 was to the effect that in seven districts of East Sussex, com- 
 prising twenty-one parishes, there were annually on an aver- 
 age from one hundred and fifty to two hundred nests of this 
 bird." (Zoologist, p. 434, 1879.) 
 
 That the young are carried by the parents from place to 
 place has been now indisputably proved, and one manner in 
 which they are conveyed is admirably depicted in the frontis- 
 piece to the volume I have quoted. I have not myself seen 
 many nests. The first was in a wood in the parish of Wood- 
 mancote, in March 1851, and another I saw in Bridge 
 Park, in March 1852, and two more in St. Leonards Forest. 
 I have received the eggs from Petworth, Arundel, and Tun- 
 bridge Wells, and have been informed that in the latter neigh- 
 bourhood the eggs have often been found. Mr. Booth, in his 
 ' Rough Notes,' states that in his bird-nesting days he had 
 frequently met with them about Catsfield and Ashbumham. 
 
WOODCOCK. 221 
 
 The Woodcock conceals itself in the covers during the day, 
 on the ground under the thick holly bushes being a favourite 
 retreat. In the evening it flies out to feed in boggy places, 
 ■when it may be easily shot. It always returns to cover 
 before sunrise. This sporb is called in Sussex " wicketing,'' 
 I suppose from the wicket gates across many of the rides in 
 the woods being convenient to lean on, while awaiting the 
 arrival of the birds. It runs very fast when wounded, and 
 feeds on earthworms, &c., for which it probes the ground 
 in the softest spots, as well as on small land and freshwater 
 shellSv I have taken from its stomach those of Clausilia 
 nigricans whole, and the remains of those of Aplexus hyp- 
 norum comminuted. 
 
 The nest is on the ground, and composed of dead leaves, in 
 Sussex generally those of the oak. It is exceedingly difficult 
 to see the bird when sitting. A keeper once attempted to 
 point one out to me, but not till he nearly touched it with 
 the muzzle of his gun could I see it, and then only by acci- 
 dentally catching sight of its eye, showing the aptitude of the 
 lines in Butler's ' Hudibras,' 
 
 " Pools are known by looking wise, 
 As men. find Woodcocks by their eyes." 
 In the unpreserved parts of Sussex they are often caught 
 in horse-hair nooses, called springes, set in their feeding 
 places. When flying at night they utter a croaking note, 
 but at other times are remarkably silent. When flushed the 
 flight is often perfectly noiseless, the bird going off like an Owl; 
 at other times it makes quite a loud clapping of the wings, like 
 some of the Pigeons, and goes off twisting sharply like a 
 Snipe. The male is smaller than the female, and both are 
 much lighter in colour in summer than in winter. Those 
 which migrate depart in March. 
 
222 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 GREAT SNIPE. 
 
 Gallinago major. 
 
 The Great Snipe is rare in Sussex, and does not visit England 
 till the autumn. At that season of the year it does not fre- 
 quent the bogs and marshes, but in the few instances in which 
 it has occurred, was mostly found among turnips or on dry 
 grass-land. When flushed, it rises in silence, as a rule, though 
 occasionally it utters a few harsh notes. 
 
 The nest is found in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and 
 Russia, from the Baltic to Archangel, and in the breeding 
 season, like the Common Snipe, it mounts high in the air, 
 and makes a drumming noise on its descent. At that time, 
 it frequents the higher regions as well as the marshes of the 
 lowlands and coast. The food of the Great Hnipe consists of 
 worms and slugs, also of insects, especially those of the gnat ^ 
 tribe. (Vide Yarrell, vol. iii. pp. 338, 339.) Markwick, in 
 his Catalogue of Sussex Birds, says, " I have seen one of this 
 species which was killed near Horsham." Mr. Dennis (p. n.) 
 states that one was obtained on Larnes Farm, Upper Beeding, 
 and another at Pond Lye, near Cuckfield, but gives no date. 
 Mr. Knox mentions that the Great Snipe "has been killed 
 on Pevensey Levels, and one was shot, in the month of 
 October, a few years ago by Mr. Trist, a wine merchant at 
 Brighton, on the Downs, near the Racecourse, a singular 
 locality for this bird.'' 
 
 In the ' Zoologist ' we find the two following notices from 
 Mr. Ellman and Mr. Monk respectively: — " A specimen of 
 this rare bird was shot in the levels near this town, in 
 October 1849, Lewes." " A fine specimen of the Solitary 
 (or Great) Snipe, which was shot near Lewes, was brought me 
 on the 10th of October, 1867 ; it was a female, extremely 
 
GREAT SNIPE. 223 
 
 fat, and weighed nearly 7f oz. ; it was preserved by Mr. 
 Swaysland.'^ Again, at p. 1483 (s. s.), an instance is 
 recorded of a Solitary Snipe caught in a gin which had 
 been set by the side of a watercress bed, at Sompting, about 
 two miles from Worthing, on the 24th of October, 1868, 
 and came the same day into the possession of Mr. J. W. 
 Stephenson, of Loudoun Place, Brixton Road. At p. 492, 
 Mr. Parkin mentions that Mr. C. J. Ebden, of Coghurst 
 Hall, near Hastings, informed him that he flushed a Great 
 Snipe ou that estate on October 6tb, 1881. 
 
 Mr. Bristowe writes to me of a specimen shot at Stream 
 Farm, Dallington, near Battle, September 23rd, 1875, by 
 Mr. Watts, of Caldbec Hill; and Mr. Child, of Slinfold, has 
 kindly informed me that he saw a Great Snipe flushed in a 
 barley field, and shot by Mr. William Lintott, of Horsham, 
 about ten years ago ; and from Mr. Nicholls, of Eastbourne, I 
 hear of another, shot in Pevensey Marsh, which he saw in 
 the flesh in 1888. Mr. Aubrey Hillman, of Iford, near 
 Lewes, has also kindly written to tell me of a Solitary Snipe 
 which he shot, in the early autumn of 1860, at Lower Stone- 
 ham, near Lewes, but although its great size and weight 
 (over 8 oz.) were observed at the time, he, not knowing its 
 rarity, did not have it preserved. Mr. P. Sorrell, Old Hum- 
 phrey's Avenue, Hastings, tells me that he has in his collec- 
 tion two examples killed at Rye. 
 
 Markwick, in his Catalogue, Linn. Trans, (vol. iv. p. 8), 
 says, " I have seen one of this species, which was killed near 
 Horsham;'^ and in an unpublished MS., now in the Library 
 of the Linnean Society (p. 23), this specimen is again re- 
 ferred to, as seen by the author, and killed near Horsham. 
 It was obtained on the 1st of October, 1793, and a full de- 
 scription is given of it, together with a water-colour drawing. 
 
224 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 COMMON SNIPE. 
 
 Scolopax coslestis. 
 
 The Snipe is resident in the county, but the main body 
 arrive, either from abroad, or from their inland breeding- 
 places, about the first week in August. In my younger days 
 I was a very ardent sportsman, and, living at Henfield close 
 to the celebrated Common, the first piece of wheat which I 
 saw reaped made me think it worth while to walk it for a Snipe, 
 and seldom was the trouble in vain. There is something 
 peculiarly attractive to this bird there, though it is not a 
 large tract, in fact only about forty-five acres in extent. I 
 was a very diligent observer of its bird-life, and generally got 
 the best sport by working up wind when it was blowing half 
 a gale. I was often there waiting for daylight, for, as the 
 ground was unpreserved, it was a case of first come first 
 served, and I have had many a good bag there, the best being 
 twelve couple and a half, and a Teal. From constant obser- 
 vation, I gradually discovered where those rising out of shot 
 or missed went to, and after finishing the Common, started 
 in pursuit. One of the most singular places was a thick 
 plantation in a little wood called the Worm^s Copse, consisting 
 in part of spruce fir, where it was almost impossible to get 
 a shot. I have several times looked over this copse before 
 going on the Common, but in no instance did I ever find a 
 Snipe, and should never have gone there for them had I not 
 one morning seen a wisp of seven or eight, when some other 
 person was shooting on the Common, pass over, and marked 
 them down there. The Snipe breeds sparingly in Sussex, 
 but the nest has been found now and then on the aforesaid 
 Common, as well as on the heaths near Balcombe, and on 
 Ashdown Forest, Pevensey Level, and Horsham. 
 
COMMON SNIPE. 225 
 
 Its food is similar to that of the Woodcock. Its usual 
 call-note -when flushed resembles the word " scape," two or 
 three times repeated, and is never heard at any other time. 
 Mr. Booth, however, states that it has a call-note in the 
 breeding-season, consisting of two notes. When the j'oung 
 corn is come up in the spring, this bird is often caught in 
 the wet furrows, in horsehair nooses, like those used for 
 taking Woodcocks. The singular sound heard when the 
 Snipe is descending is now satisfactorily ascertained to be 
 caused by the vibration of its wings and tail. 
 
 The Snipe, when first started, goes ofE nearly close to the 
 ground, with many twistings, then flying round in large 
 circles, suddenly drops like a stone into the marsh, if it does 
 not leave it altogether. 
 
 In very severe frosts the Snipe leaves the inland bogs and 
 betakes itself to the salt-marshes, where, although it is at 
 other times the best of birds for the table, the flesh becomes 
 rank and unpalatable. In this country it is rarely seen but 
 on the ground or on the wing, though I have more than 
 once observed it on the top of a larch, and two or three times 
 on a rail. In the northern regions it has often been seen on 
 trees. 
 
 Of the variety known as Sabine's Snipe, which is now 
 admitted to be merely a melanism of the Common Snipe, 
 only a single example seems to have been obtained in Sussex, 
 viz. that which is mentioned by Mr. Knox in his O. R. 
 p. 236. I heard of this bird and told Mr. Knox, who went 
 to Chichester and bought it. It was shot by one Sergeant 
 Carter, who informed me by letter that he found it on 
 Appledram Common, where it rose out of shot, and marking 
 it down, it again rose at a long distance, when he killed it, 
 and sold it for five shillings to a Mr. Andrews, who refused 
 three pounds for it. He afterwards -had it stuffed by Mr. 
 Smith of Chichester, who sold it to Mr. Knox for five pounds. 
 
 Q 
 
226 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 Carter further adds, " You will say ' Old fool/ for letting it 
 go so cheap.' I have no doubt there is another in the neigh- 
 bourhood, as two countrymen told me they had put a Snipe 
 up out of the springhole in Mr. Halsted's marsh, as black as 
 a Starling, the Saturday after I killed mine. If I should get 
 the other the price would make me sing ' O be joyful.' " I 
 never heard that the second was obtained. 
 
 JACK SNIPE. 
 
 Scolopax gallinula. 
 
 Though not at all uncommouj the Jack Snipe is by no means 
 
 so abundant as the last described, and, unlike it, is never 
 
 found in wisps, seldom more than a pair being flushed 
 
 together, and it is far more usual to find it solitary. When 
 
 alarmed it lies very close, so much so that one day, having 
 
 no more ammunition, I obtained three, immediately under 
 
 the nose of my pointer, by dropping the muzzle of my gun 
 
 upon the bird, which my readers will no doubt call a very 
 
 unsportsmanlike proceeding. When flushed, the Jack Snipe 
 
 seldom flies to any great distance, and does not twist about 
 
 like the Common Snipe. Many stories have been told of the 
 
 difficulty of shooting it, but I must say that I think it is 
 
 even greater in the case of the Common Snipe, as the Jack 
 
 hangs in the wind, and, though flying sharply for a moment, 
 
 afterwards goes off very slowly, but if one waits till it is at a 
 
 reasonable distance it is very apt to drop just as you are 
 
 about to fire. It is found, not in the parts where the bog is 
 
 deepest, but on the drier spots around the little springholes 
 
 on its margin, or the runlets trickling down towards it. On 
 
 the Common I have so often mentioned, I always knew where 
 
 to find one, if any were there. 
 
JACK SNIPE.— BKOAD-BILLED SANDPIPER. 227 
 
 , The first week in October is the earliest time of its arrival, 
 as a rule, but I have met with one on September 1st. It 
 pever breeds in this country, and we are indebted to the late 
 Mr. WoUey, who found it breeding in Lapland, for a know- 
 ledge of its nest and eggs. The former is stated by Yarrell, 
 vol. iii. pp. 354-5, to be " made loosely of little pieces of 
 grass and equisetum, not at all woven together, with a few old 
 leaves of dwarf birch, placed in a dry, sedgy, or grassy spot, 
 close to the more open swamp." 
 
 The food of this bird is similar to that of the Common 
 Snipe, and during the breeding-season it makes a drumming 
 noise, which Mr. Wolley likens to the cantering of a horse 
 over a hollow road. 
 
 BROAD-BILLED SANDPIPEE. 
 
 Limicola plafyrhyncha. 
 
 Of this species I am not aware of any example having been 
 obtained in Sussex, except one in my own possession. I was 
 walking near the west end of Brighton and met a boy carry- 
 ing a bunch of birds ; I asked him where he got them and 
 what he was going to do with them. He replied that his 
 father shot them on the beach near Shoreham, and that he 
 was going to see what he could get for them at the poul- 
 terer's. I asked what he expected that would be, and he 
 said twopence a piece. I then said, " If you like I will give 
 you sixpence for this one ; " the boy accepted it and was very 
 much pleased, and so was I.' He said that there was a large 
 flock, and that his father killed the ten he was carrying at 
 one shot ; with the exception of the one I selected, they were 
 all Dunlins. This was in the latter part of October 1845. 
 On examination the bird proved to be in winter plumage, 
 
 q2 
 
228 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX, 
 
 except one scapular feather and a small patch on the occiput. 
 In many parts of the Continent it frequents the coast and 
 inland waters. According to Yarrell (vol. iii. p. 365), Mr. 
 Dann was the first discoverer of its hreeding-places in Nor- 
 way and Laplandj where it forms its nest on dry hummocks 
 in the most inaccessible bogs. On its first appearance it is 
 wild and shy, and, on being disturbed, it soars to a great 
 height, rising and falling suddenly like the Snipe, and utter- 
 ing the notes " two-woo," rapidly repeated ; but, as the 
 weather becomes warm, it changes its habits, and is then very 
 difficult to flush, and when it rises only flies a short distance 
 and drops again. In the stomach little has been found save 
 small insects and larvae. 
 
 PECTOEAL SANDPIPER. 
 
 Tringa maculata. 
 
 This Sandpiper has but rarely been met with in England, 
 being an accidental visitant from N. America, where under 
 the names of "Meadow Snipe" and "Grass Snipe" it is, 
 according to Yarrell, generally distributed from Hudson's 
 Bay to Alaska, iu winter, and is supposed to breed in the 
 Arctic Regions, but the egg is yet unknown. It is abundant 
 in summer, in Labrador, frequenting low muddy flats. Its 
 habits resemble those of the Common Snipe. It feeds on 
 insects, small seeds, and Crustacea. In Sussex the only 
 occurrence is that recorded by Mr. Harting in his ' Hand- 
 book of British Birds,' p. 141, as having been obtained at 
 Eastbourne, in September 1870. 
 
BONAPARTE'S SANDPIPER.— DUNLIN. 229 
 
 BONAPAETE'S SANDPIPER. 
 
 Tringa fuscicollis. 
 
 This Tringa is also an inhabitant of N. America^ and is 
 nearly as rare in Sussex as the last. According to Yarrell 
 (vol. iii. p. 375), it is very abundant on the Atlantic coast from 
 Labrador to Florida. Dr. E. Coues states that he has fre- 
 quently observed it on the rocky shores covered with sea- 
 weed, and that it is, of all Sandpipers, the most gentle and 
 confiding. In this country an example was obtained by Mr. 
 Kent, of St. Leonard's-on-Sea, who states in the ' Zoologist,^ 
 pp. 673-7, that the Schinz (or Bonaparte's) Sandpiper was in 
 company with a Red-necked Phalarope, the latter swimming 
 and the Schinz wading in a flooded meadow, about two hun- 
 dred yards from the sea, directly opposite the village of 
 Bexhill ; they were not at all shy, and he killed both at one 
 shot. They proved to be males. This was the first recorded 
 Sussex specimen, and the date was October 8th, 1857. 
 
 Another was taken at Eastbourne, now in possession of 
 Mr. Gurney, on November 13th, 1870. It was alone and 
 standing on one leg, which attracted the attention of the 
 person who shot it, though he at first mistook it for a Dunlin. 
 It was a male bird and was recorded by Mr. J. H. Grurney, 
 jun., in the ' Zoologist,' p. 3442, s. s. 
 
 DUNLIN. 
 
 Tringa alpina. 
 
 The Dunlin, also called the Purre, or the Ox-bird, is the 
 most abundant of all the waders on the whole of our coast. 
 
230 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 and is found in small parties, and occasionally in very large 
 flocksj on tlie beacli and sands as well as on the mud flats. 
 
 When disturhed on the sea-side they fly in a compact body 
 
 and make a semicircular excursion over the sea, returning to 
 
 the beach at a few hundred yards distance, During these 
 
 flights the whole body wheel and turn all together, showing 
 
 at one moment the dark plumage of the back, and at the 
 
 next the pure white of the underparts, and uttering a loud 
 
 but somewhat soft cry, •' Tui, Tui." While feeding the bird 
 
 runs very swiftly, and is very restless, constantly shifting 
 
 from place to place, following each receding wave and picking 
 
 up marine insects, worms, and small Crustacea. It seldom 
 
 proceeds up the rivers beyond the influence of the tide. It 
 
 goes northward to breed on the moors of England and 
 
 Scotland, sometimes on mountains at a considerable height 
 
 above the sea, forming the nest in a dry tuft of sedge or 
 
 rushes, lining it with small pieces of grass and heather. 
 
 LITTLE STINT. 
 Tringa minuta. 
 
 In the latter part of May, or the beginning of June, small 
 parties of this little wader may be found along the coast, 
 many more arriving in August and September. Mr. Booth 
 mentions that a heavy gale from the south-east not unfre- 
 queutly brings numbers to the coast of Sussex as late as 
 October, thus checking their southerly migration. It is 
 occasionally met with on the mud of the harbour at Shore- 
 ham, and in the salt-marshes in the neighbourhood, in fact 
 on suitable spots all along the coast. In the eastern division 
 one of its favourite haunts was formerly a piece of marsh 
 
LITTLE STINT.— TEMMINOK'S STINT. 231 
 
 land near Rye, known as the " Nook " ; but owing to the 
 drainage, it is, though still found there, by no means so 
 abundant as formerly. To the westward of Pagham Harbour 
 is another attractive spot, but unhappily, ornithologically 
 speaking, the same remark equally applies there, the sea 
 being now entirely shut out, and the mud preparing for the 
 plough. It is a social little bird, often joining parties of 
 the Dunlin and the Curlew Sandpiper. 
 
 It retires far north to breed. The eggs were first found 
 by Middendorfl' in Siberia, and in 1875 it was found breed- 
 ing on the Petchora by Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie 
 Brown, of which discovery there is a most interesting account 
 in the 'Ibis,' 1876, pp. 294-308. The note is described 
 as a " whispering warbling trill" and the nest as a mere 
 depression in the turf with leaves of the cloudberry and other 
 dry materials scraped together for the lining. 
 
 TEMMINCK'S STINT. 
 
 Tringa temmincki. 
 
 This is a much rarer species than the Little Stint, and never 
 found on the sand or open coast-line of the sea-shore, but 
 frequents the mud flats of the tidal rivers. In August and 
 September small parties arrive on the rivers, ponds, and mud 
 of the Adur, and of Shoreham Harbour, also on the salt- 
 marshes a mile or so up that river. On July 35th, 1878, 
 one was shot by Mr. Booth, at Shoreham, in full summer 
 plumage, and its manners resembled those of the Common 
 Sandpiper. On this account Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) states that 
 this and both the Stints are often called " Wagtails," and 
 
232 THE BIEDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 he mentions that two were shot inside the mud walls of 
 Prior's Marsh, near Chichester, on Aug. 25th, 1873, and 
 that their note resembles "Chicket, Chicket." The eggs 
 were discovered by Mr. Wolley in the interior of Lapland, 
 who states that the note was like that of the Red-necked 
 Phalarope and the Sanderlings, and gives a very interesting 
 account of it, too long to quote. He also states that the 
 nest is placed in hummocky ground covered with Carices 
 and cloudberry. It is a mere depression in the ground, 
 with such leaves of the cloudberry and other dry material 
 as were in easy reach. The bird flew round, or perched on 
 a stone, or the gable of a cottage, uttering a trilling note, 
 which put him in mind of that of the Grasshopper Warbler 
 {vide Yarrell, vol. iii. pp. 400, 401). In the 'Zoologist' 
 (p. 3279), Mr. Ellman records that he obtained a specimen 
 of this minute Sandpiper among the mud- pells at Newhaven, 
 October 5th, 1851. 
 
 CUELEW SANDPIPER. 
 
 Tringa subarguata. 
 
 This is a migratory species, arriving in May, when these 
 birds are in full breeding-plumage. In August and Sep- 
 tember much greater numbers join them, consisting for the 
 most part of birds of the year. 
 
 They seldom remain long enough to have assumed the 
 winter plumage, but before leaving they are iu a state of 
 transition, many of the red feathers of the underparts 
 being mingled with the approaching winter dress. 
 
 Their habits in Sussex are much the same as those of the 
 
CUELEW SANDPIPER.— KNOT. 233 
 
 Dunlin, with whicli they often associate, though still oftener 
 with the Little Stint. They are by no means uncommon, 
 and are found all along the coast. Our rivers being very 
 small, I have never heard of their occurring inland in 
 Sussex. The breeding-place is as yet unknown. 
 
 PUEPLE SANDPIPER. 
 
 Tringa striata. 
 
 The Purple Sandpiper may be met with along the whole 
 coast of Sussex, where it is generally alone, or at most with 
 two or three in company. It prefers the more rocky parts, 
 for example the large masses of chalk fallen from the cliffs 
 between Brighton and Seaford Head, where it may be found 
 all through September, October, and November running 
 about among the sea-weed, or if on the beach, following the 
 receding waves, and often getting buried in the surf, feeding 
 on small crabs and other Crustacea and on the contents of 
 minute bivalves and other shells. It is very tame, and its 
 note, when disturbed, is a soft " weet, wit " two or three 
 times repeated. It breeds on the whole coast of Norway, 
 the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, Spitzbergen, and Nova 
 Zembla. The nest is tolerably compact, deep in the ground, 
 and lined with dead leaves. 
 
 KNOT. 
 
 Tringa canutus. 
 
 The Knot has received its name from the old legend of 
 King Canute, on account of its habit of feeding on the 
 
2S4 THE. BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 ■margiii of the sea-shore, close to the advaucing waves! It 
 is migratoryj making its first appearance in April, in small 
 numbers, which continue to increase throughout that month 
 and the next. 
 
 Many, even then, show shght indication of the change 
 from the winter to the summer plumage, and by the end 
 of June the main body have entirely assumed it, when they 
 depart for the breeding-season, with the exception of a few 
 which remain throughout the year, frequenting the open 
 coast. During the whole of May large flights pass eastward, 
 following the line of coast, five or six miles out at sea. On 
 the approach of a heavy gale they leave the shore and betake 
 themselves to the mud of the harbours and rivers as high 
 as the salt water flows, and are very seldom found further 
 inland. When feeding on the mud they assemble in vast 
 flocks, and are very easily approached, and with a punt-gun 
 as many as sixty have been obtained at a single shot. As 
 soon as the weather moderates they return to their feeding- 
 places on the beach and sands. They are at times very 
 numerous about Shoreham, and were so at Pagham before 
 the mud flats were reclaimed; Rye Harbour was another 
 favourite resort. They feed on small bivalves and other 
 fehellfish, and were formerly fattened for the table on bread 
 and milk. In the breeding-season they retire to the Arctic 
 Regions, where Parry's Expedition found them breeding 
 numerously on what were then called the North Georgian, 
 but are now known as the Parry Islands, and again, on July 
 30th, 1876, an old bird, accompanied by three nestlings, 
 was obtained on the border of a small lake not far from 
 H.M.S. "Alert." The old bird proved to be a male j its 
 stomach and those of the young were filled with insects 
 {vide 'Ibis,' 1877, p. 407), and, according to YarreU 
 (vol. iii. p. 416), Mr. 11. Chichester Hart, natui'alist to 
 H.M.S. " Discovery," obtained, in 81° 44' N.L., a brood 
 
KNOT.— SANDEELING. 235 
 
 of fourj disturbed from the nest on the 11th of July. 
 This was placed under a large flat stone^ resting on two 
 others^ forming a sort of gangway. It was merely com- 
 posed of reeds and grass, loosely laid together on the earth 
 by the edge of a stream, but no trace of the egg-shells were 
 fouud. These were several miles inland. At this season of the 
 year the Knot soars high in the air like the Common Snipe, 
 and when descending beats its wings behind the back with a 
 rapid motion, producing a loud whirriug noise. In the north 
 these birds feed eagerly on the Saxifraga oppositifolia. 
 
 SANDEKLING. 
 
 Calidris arenaria. 
 
 This little wader first appears early in May, on the spring 
 migration, and stays two or three weeks, occasionally as late 
 as the first week of June. Flocks of old and young return 
 about the end of July, or beginning of August, on their way 
 southward . 
 
 In October great bodies of them may be seen flying 
 to the westward. As the name implies, the Sanderling 
 feeds on the sea-sands, probing for its food, which consists 
 of small worms and Crustacea, after the manner of the Snipe. 
 In the breeding-season it eats also the buds of Saxifraga 
 oppositifolia. It is found along the whole coast, especially 
 at Worthing, Pagham, Sidlesham, and Bosham. 
 
 In the Arctic Regions, where it breeds; the eggs were first 
 fully identified by Mr. McFarlane, when collecting for the 
 Smithsonian Institution, near the Anderson River, and the 
 German Arctic Expedition met with similar nests on the 
 east coast of Greenland. 
 
 Professor Newton obtained an egg in Iceland, and Colonel 
 
236 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 FeildeUj naturalist to H.M.S. " Alert/' fouud ten on Sabine 
 Island, in Smith's Sound. 
 
 A nest found by the last-named naturalist was placed on 
 a gravel ridge, a hundred feet above the sea, in a slight 
 depression in the centre of a recumbent plant of willow ; 
 the lining consisted of a few withered leaves and some of 
 the last year's catkins. Another, found on Anderson 
 River, was composed of hay and decayed leaves (see YarreU, 
 vol. iii. p. 33). 
 
 RUFF. 
 
 Machetes pugnax. 
 
 The Ruff cannot be called common in Sussex' and all which 
 have been met with have been in winter plumage. It may 
 now be considered as an accidental visitor, though it 
 formerly bred in Pevensey Levels till it was banished by 
 the extensive drainage. Numbers were formerly found in 
 the fens of Cambridge and Lincolnshire, and on Romney 
 Marsh, in Kent, whence the eggs were given me many 
 years ago. 
 
 In the breeding-season the males assemble at " lekking " 
 places, locally called " hills," like the Black Grouse and 
 Capercallie, and fight desperately for the females. 
 
 The nest is generally placed on a tussock in the wettest 
 part of a swamp. The food consists of insects, larvae, 
 worms, and, occasionally, of certain seeds, and its note is a 
 low "Kack-Kick-Kack." 
 
 The late Mr. Knox records (O. R., p. 334) a curious 
 capture of a Ruff, in a clap-net, near HovCj being apparently 
 attracted by a Jjark which was used as a call-bird. I see. 
 
E UFR— BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER. 237 
 
 by my own notes, that this was in September 1843, and 
 that an adult male was shot near Eastbourne, on March 
 11th, 1840. 
 
 Mr, JefiFery (p. n.) mentions one shot at Appledram, April 
 24th, 1861, another at Pagham Harbour, October 1863, 
 and that three were seen at Sidlesham, August 24th, 1864, 
 and one shot a day or two before at Pagham, two more in 
 1873 at the same harbour, and, lastly, two at Sidlesham, 
 March 2nd, 1887. In the ' Zoologist/ p. 4258, s. a., is re- 
 corded a Reeve, obtained near Eastbourne, on September 
 21st, 1874. 
 
 Mr. Harting informs me that twenty years ago, when 
 Pagham Harbour was a paradise for shore birds in spring 
 and autumn, and for wildfowl in winter, he used ofteu to 
 come across the Ruff and Reeve there in August and Sep- 
 tember. They were never in flocks, but in little parties of 
 five or six birds, and the males had then entirely lost their 
 frills. He never observed Ithem there in spring, which 
 indicates that they returned northward at that season by a 
 different route. This he observed to be the case also with 
 the Grey Phalarope. 
 
 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER. 
 
 Tringites rufescens. 
 
 A VERY rare visitant to Sussex, being in fact a straggler 
 from N. America. According to Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. 
 pp. 437-8) its summer haunts are in the Arctic portions of 
 tlie American continent, and its food consists of land and 
 marine insects, particularly grasshoppers. Mr. Dresser 
 found it in Mexico, and the birds were there very fat, and 
 
238 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 excellent eating. They preferred the sandy plains and the 
 dry tracks of the cotton teams. The call-note was low and 
 weak. The nest is placed in a slight depression in the 
 ground, lined with a little grass or a few leaves. 
 
 In the 'Zoologist' for 1843 the late Mr. F. Bond, in a 
 note dated March 28th, stated that a specimen of the 
 Buff-breasted Sandpiper, obtained on the Sussex coast, had 
 lately come into his possession. Not more than fifteen 
 specimens have been recorded as having been met with in 
 the British Islands. 
 
 BARTEAM'S SANDPIPER. 
 
 Bartramia longicauda. 
 
 This is another American species, whose visits to this country 
 are exceedingly rare. Of the habits of a specimen killed 
 at Low Steady in Northumberland, Mr. Bolam writes (see 
 Yarrrll's B. B. vol. iii. p. 44) : — "It was in the habit of 
 frequenting the long grass or ' bents ' with which the links 
 at Low Stead are covered, and Mr. Henry Grey . . . informs 
 me that it was not at all shy, and, when amongst the tall 
 grass, lay like a Snipe or Woodcock, allowing him to approach 
 within a few yards of it before rising. . . . and after flying for 
 a short distance. . • it would again drop into the long grass, 
 or, alighting on the bare sand, would run ofE to some con- 
 venient place of shelter. When surprised in the open ... it 
 ran very swiftly, frequently stopping behind a stone, or, after 
 it had got some distance from him, standing on a slight 
 hillock or other eminence, and watching his movements, its 
 tail, all the while, moving up and down with a peculiar sway- 
 ing motion not observable in any other of the Sandpipers. 
 
BARTRAMS .SANDPIPER.— OOxMMON SAiSTDPIPER. 289 
 
 Its note, uttered for the most part when flying, was a shrill 
 piping whistle." 
 
 On p. 444, op. cit., Dr. E. Cones states that the nest is a 
 depression of the ground, with a leaf or two, or a few blades 
 of grass. The food of this bird is principally grasshoppers 
 ^nd other insects, especially beetles, and berries. It is stated 
 to be always fat, and delicious eating. 
 
 Mr. Button, of Eastbourne, states in the ' Zoologist,' 
 p. 9118, that he purchased at a sale of birds belonging to the 
 late Mr. Wille, of Lewes, a beautiful specimen of Bartram's 
 Sandpiper, shot at Newliaven sometime between 1836 and 
 1840. This is the first instance of the occurrence of this 
 species in England on record. 
 
 COMMON SANDPIPER. 
 
 Totanits hypoleuciis. 
 
 This species, known also as the Summer Snipe and the 
 Wagtail, is migratory, making its first appearance in April, 
 aud remaining till the end of September. It is seldom met 
 with on the sea-shore, but frequents the river banks, and 
 those of most of the larger ponds throughout the county; 
 and is said occasionally to breed with us. I cannot, how- 
 ever, confirm this, except that I once picked up a single egg, 
 which I still have, on a little strip of pebbly sand, left by 
 the tide of the Adur, but although I then watched a pair of 
 these birds for a long time, and again on the next day, I 
 failed to find the nest. When wounded I have seen the bird 
 swim and dive well, and it is then very difficult to catch. 
 It is very good eating, especially when potted. As it is 
 generally seen in pairs, it seems very strange that the nest 
 
240 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 has been so seldom met with in the county. Mr. R. Gray, 
 in his ' Birds of the West of Scotland/ p. 297, states that 
 on the banks of the Clyde he has even seen the bird making 
 its nest in flower-pots, under bushes, and among growing 
 plants, frequently in turnip fields. It is very cheerful and 
 lively, generally running from stone to stone very rapidly, 
 perching on one of them, and wagging its tail up and down, 
 uttering the while a few soft piping notes, which it also does 
 while on the wing. I once found the nest by the edge of 
 Bala Lake in N. Wales, constructed of little pieces of some 
 dead water-plant, a quantity of which had drifted along the 
 margin of the lake. The stomachs of several which I shot 
 on the banks of the Adur were filled with minute freshwater 
 shrimps, and small univalve moUusks, chiefly Turbo ulvce. 
 
 SPOTTED SANDPIPER. 
 
 Totanus macularius. 
 
 Op the occurrence of this American species in England there 
 are but few instances recorded. Of these two were shot in 
 Sussex, near Eastbourne. At the request of Mr. J. H. 
 Gurney, I went there and ascertained from Mr. Bates, 
 naturalist, that they had been shot at the Crambles pond, 
 near that town, in October 1866. One of them was pur- 
 chased by Mr. Gurney, and the other Mr. Bates retained, 
 declining to let me have it. The habits of this species are 
 said to be so similar to those of the Common Sandpiper that 
 the description of that species will equally apply to this. 
 
GBEEN SANDPIPER. 241 
 
 GREEN SANDPIPER. 
 
 Totcmus ochropus. 
 
 The appearances of this bird are so erratic that it is im- 
 possible to say when it arrives or departs. I have myself shot 
 or seen generally single birds, and twice three together, in 
 April, May, August, September, October, and November, and 
 it can neither be called common nor rare. Nearly all I have 
 met with have risen from some little insignificant pond or 
 pool, dug in the meadows for the watering of the cattle. It 
 also frequents streams in woods, and the banks of rivers and 
 brooks at a distance from the sea. 
 
 When disturbed it goes off with a flight like that of a 
 Snipe, but generally silently, though I have occasionally 
 heard it utter a triple, piping note. I have never met with 
 or heard of it on the coast, and there is no known instance 
 of its breeding in Sussex. Where it does breed it is said to 
 lay its eggs in the deserted nest of some other bird, some- 
 times in a tree at a great height from the ground. Mr. 
 Knox (O. R. p. 230) makes this statement: — "In June 
 1843 I observed four on the borders of a pond through 
 which ran a clear trout stream at Cocking, near Midhurst. 
 . . . When disturbed at the pond the birds used to retire 
 into the great woods in the immediate neighbourhood." 
 Mr. Harting, in his ' Birds of Middlesex,^ p. 175, observes 
 that it is more sluggish in its movements than the Common 
 Sandpiper, and that "it bores for its food, which consists 
 chiefly of small beetles, as well as spiders, very small red 
 worms, and woodlice." 
 
 The only specimen recorded as having occurred in Sussex 
 in July is that noted by Mr. Jeff'ery, who met with one near 
 Chichester, in that month in 1863. 
 
 R 
 
242 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 Markwick, in his Catalogue (Linn. Trans, vol. iv. p. 21), 
 writing of the Green and the Wood Sandpipers, says, 
 "These birds agree so nearly in size, mode of living, and 
 other respects, that they are with the greatest probability 
 supposed to be only varieties of the same species, perhaps 
 male and female." 
 
 WOOD SANDPIPEE. 
 
 Totanus glareola. 
 
 This species is much rarer than the last. With the ex- 
 ception of June and July, when it departs to its breeding- 
 quarters on the Continent, it may be occasionally met with 
 at any time, in various parts of the county^ rarely on the 
 sea-shore, occasionally in streams running through woods, 
 but more frequently on open marshes or bogs. I find from 
 my own notes that Mr. Ellman informed me by letter that 
 he obtained a specimen in August 1851, at the Tide Mill, 
 near Newhaven; in the ' Zoologist ' (p. Z27Q), speaking of 
 the same example, he says it was in company with some 
 Dunlins, and when they rose it remained alone, thereby 
 attractiug his attention and leading him to shoot it. About 
 the same time I saw at Mr. Swaysland's two others shot 
 near Shoreham. On August 16th, 1862, Mr. Smith shot a 
 pair on Henfield Common, and gave me one of them. It 
 was, however, too high to preserve. The other fell in an 
 inaccessible part of the bog and was unfortunately lost. 
 The two were together and uttered a sharp note on the wing. 
 Another was obtained on the same common on August 17th, 
 1868 J it was alone, and is now in my collection. I have 
 seen one of these Sandpipers, which was shot near a pond 
 
"WOOD SANDPIPER.— COMMON REDSHANK. 243 
 
 at King's Farm, Cowfold, but cannot give the date. Mr. 
 Knox (O. R. p. 231) states that Mr. Swaysland informed 
 him that four were secured near Worthing, in September 
 1851. 
 
 Mr, Jeffery, in his p. n., mentions one shot near Pagham, 
 on October lOth, 1864, and another, at the same place, in 
 August 1865, which was sent to Chichester Museum; 
 another, also at Pagham, in 1866, and a fourth at Itchenor, 
 on May 10th, 1880. 
 
 With respect to the flight o£ the Wood Sandpiper, Mr. 
 Hancock, who found the only nest known to have been 
 taken in England, states that it flies in circles, and at 
 every change in the direction of its flight, a musical, 
 sharp, and trilling sound may be heard, which endures for 
 several seconds, at the same time the wings are observed to 
 strike the air with a short, rapid, tremulous motion, which, 
 there is little reason to doubt, causes this remarkable sound. 
 See his 'Birds of Northumberland and Durham,' p. 121. 
 Its food is insects and worms. The nest is placed in the 
 thickest herbage of the marsh, and is very difficult to 
 discover. It does not breed in Sussex. ~ 
 
 COMMON EEDSHANK. 
 
 Totanus calidris. 
 
 The Redshank, generally known to the shore-shooter as the 
 Redlegs, is resident throughout the year, and is one of the 
 commonest species of its genus, frequenting the mud flats 
 of our estuaries in considerable fl ocks as soon as they begin 
 to be uncovered by the tide; retiring, as the water rises, 
 
 a2 
 
244 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 to short distances inland^ and returning again to their feeding- 
 places with singular punctuality. 
 
 It is a very noisy bird. Its cry is extremely musical^ and 
 so loud that it may be heard in still weather for upwards of 
 a mile. When feeding on the mud it frequently jumps 
 up in order to thrust its bill with the greater force into it, 
 constantly nodding and bobbing its head and running with 
 great celerity from spot to spot. Its food consists of small 
 worms and Crustacea. The Eedshank still breeds in a few 
 places in Sussex, such as Pevensey Level, whence I have 
 received its eggs within the last few years. 
 
 In YarreU's B. B. (vol. iii. p. 471) we find the following : — 
 " The nest is well described by Col. W. V. Legge, who says 
 that it is well concealed in the centre of a green tuft of 
 grass, the blades of which are carefully bent over the top, 
 and the openings, by which the bird enters ^nd leaves the 
 nest, being closed up on her quitting it, — only a few tracks 
 in the surrounding herbage betraying its existence." 
 
 It is not now much valued for the table, but we find 
 in ' The Earl of Northumberland's Household Book ' 
 (p. 105) : — " Item, Redeshankes to be bought at Principall 
 Feestes for my Lordes own Mees after j'' ob. the pece." 
 
 In some Natural History Notes made by Mr. G. O. Rope 
 during his stay at Iken, on the River Aide, in the spring of 
 1888 {' Zoologist,' 3rd s. pp. 337, 328), he states :— " A pair 
 of Redshanks very clamorous to-day (May 16), at the top of 
 the cliff; having evidently young ones close by ; they kept 
 alighting from time to time on the top of one of the oaks 
 overhanging the saltings, uttering all the time their loud 
 and impressive alarm notes. It is a common practice with 
 these birds, when they have young about the saltings, to 
 alight on these trees; and should anyone chance to pass 
 nearer than they like to the chicks squatting among the 
 rushes, several pairs of Redshanks may often be seen to- 
 
COMMON EEDSHANK.— SPOTTED EEDSHANK. 245 ' 
 
 getter wheeling and screaming about the oaks, and perching 
 from time to time on the upper twigs. Every now and then 
 they dash suddenly to the ground, where, as well as when 
 on the trees, they continually keep up the curious jerking 
 bow, so characteristic of this bird." 
 
 SPOTTED REDSHANK. 
 
 Totanus fuscus. 
 
 Though much rarer than the last described species, the 
 Spotted Redshank has in many instances been met with in 
 the county. Though occasionally feeding on the mud at 
 the mouths of harbours and estuaries, it is more addicted to 
 freshwater ponds inland than the Common Redshank, and 
 is sometimes met with many miles from the sea. From my 
 own notes I select the following instances of its occurrence : — 
 Mr. Ellman informed me by letter that he shot an adult 
 male in autumnal plumage near Eastbourne on Sept. 6th, 
 1851. In the same month I saw at Mr. Swaysland^s two 
 specimens, one shot at Shoreham, the other at Amberley ; 
 the latter contained in its stomach a perfect specimen of 
 Lymnceus pereger ; both had nearly assumed the winter 
 plumage. On August 23rd, 1889, a specimen just changing 
 from the summer to the autumnal plumage was shot by the 
 side of a small pond on King's Farm, Cowfold. This is in 
 my own collection, and is the darkest I have ever met 
 with in Sussex. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) records one shot on 
 August 25th, 1860, and another on the 14th of the same 
 month in 1863, a third on August 29th, 1864, and a fourth 
 on September 36th, 1866, all at Sidlesham ; also one shot at 
 
• 246 THE BIRDS OF SOSSEX. 
 
 PaghaiDj in November of the same year, and an immature 
 specimen on August lOth, 1869. 
 
 The nest was first discovered by Mr. John Wolley, and is 
 described by him as placed in the driest situation possible, 
 even on hills of a considerable height covered with forest 
 timber, two of which nests he saw ; one was on ground 
 which had evidently been .burnt at some former period. 
 They were both nearly at the top of long hills, many 
 hundred yards from any marshy place, among diminutive 
 heather and suchlike plants, growing thinly among rein- 
 deer lichen in slight depressions on the ground, and the 
 bedding was only a few dry leaves of Scotch fir. The bird 
 sits very close, and when it rises, either gets up direct or 
 runs a short distance first, and then flies round with an occa- 
 sional "tjeuty," or stands upon the top of a neighbour- 
 ing tree, showing the full length of its slender legs, neck, 
 and bill. 
 
 GREENSHANK. 
 
 Totanus canescens. 
 
 In the first week in May the Greenshank makes its appear- 
 ance on our coast, though it does not remain long before it 
 retires to its breeding-stations, whence it reappears with 
 its young in the beginning of August, and leaves for the 
 winter by the end of October, It is seldom seen in larger 
 parties than from four to six, and is very vigilant and diffi- 
 cult of approach, which makes it by no means a favourite 
 with the shore-shooting fraternity, as it rises with a great 
 clamour and disturbs all the birds within hearing. This 
 cry is uttered in a melodious tone, and is very loud. 
 
GREENSHANK— BLAOK-TAILED GODWIT. 247 
 
 resembling the syllables " cherwutj cherwut." It occasion- 
 ally accompanies the flocks of Redshanks on the mud of the 
 harbours Sec, and has sometimes, though very rarely, been 
 found inland by the side of a brook or in a meadow on its 
 borders. Its food consists of insects, fish, worms, and small 
 Crustacea. If it comes to deep water while wading it will 
 swim without hesitation, and dives well. 
 
 From its wildness it is not often shot, but I have in 
 my own notes mention of its occurrence at Old Shoreham, 
 October 12th, 1838, and two out of four were shot after a 
 very heavy gale from the south-west, on September 19th, 
 1840 ; also of one in May, and another on September 15th, 
 1843. I have also received specimens .from Pagham and 
 from Chichester Harbour. Mr. Dennis obtained one, shot 
 in October 1854 near the Cuckmere River, and a few others 
 at various times along the coast. 
 
 During the breeding-season the Greenshank will some- 
 times perch on trees. The nest is described in YarrelFs 
 B. B. (vol. iii. p. 485) as consisting of a few fragments of 
 heath and some blades of grass placed in a cavity scraped 
 in the turf in an exposed place. It breeds in many parts of 
 Scotland. 
 
 BLACK-TAILED GODWIT. 
 
 Limosa cegocephala. 
 
 The Black-tailed Godwit appears occasionally on our coast 
 on migration, but is much less numerous than the Bar- 
 tailed species. It is in fact a rare bird, and frequents 
 marshy spots inland more than the mud flats, feeding 
 principally on freshwater univalves and mollusks. It bred 
 
248 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX, 
 
 formerly on the fens of England, but ther& is no known 
 instance of its nesting in Sussex. 
 
 Mr. Knox states that it has been killed once or twice in 
 an immature state at Amberley, also on Pevensey Levels 
 and the Rye Marshes, and that a maie and female, killed at 
 Sidlesham, are in Chichester Museum (O. R. p. 232). 
 Mr. Gordon, in his ' History of Harting,' mentions one shot 
 at Black Rye Pond in the autumn of 1858. Mr. Jeffery 
 (p. n.) records that one was shot on fresh water near Bird- 
 ham, on August 6th, 1853 ; another on a freshwater pond 
 near Ashling, August 24th, 1854, containing remains of 
 insects and of marine and freshwater shells, and a portion 
 of fine gravel. A young bird of this year was shot at 
 Pagham, and five more were seen on August 29th, 1865 ; 
 and one was shot at Bosham on the 4th September, 1867. 
 The nest is concealed in the coarse herbage of the swamps 
 and meadows, and is composed of dry grass and other 
 weeds. 
 
 When disturbed they are very vociferous, flying round and 
 uttering a sound resembling ''grutty, grutty." Mr. Seebohm, 
 speaking of a nest which he found in Jutland, in his 
 "British Birds" (vol, iii. p; 165), remarks that it was a 
 mere hollow in the short coarse herbage on the dry part of 
 the ground, somewhat deep, and lined with a handful of dry 
 grass. 
 
 BAE-TAILED GODWIT. 
 
 Limosa lapponica. 
 
 The Bar-tailed Godwit arrives in May so regularly that the 
 12th is known as Godwit day; but far greater numbers 
 
BAE-TAILED GODWIT.— COMMON CUELEW. 249 
 
 appear in August, and until they are disturbed they are 
 exceedingly tame ; but being much prized for the table, 
 they are persecuted by the gunner and soon become very 
 shy and wary. Formerly they were fattened on bread and 
 milk, and fetched a very high price. 
 
 They frequent the mud flats throughout the winter, 
 retiring to the beach at high tides, and feed on various 
 worms, shellfish, and insects, probing for them with their 
 long bills, and sweeping from side to side, and are common 
 all along the coast, but are seldom met with inland. They 
 breed in Lapland, and on the Petchora, and various places 
 in the north of Europe. Mr. WoUey obtained the eggs in 
 Finland. The nest is very slight, — a little dry grass or short 
 herbage placed in a depression in the ground. Mr. J. H. 
 Gurney, jun., in his paper on ''The Spring Migration of 
 Birds at St. Leonards " in the ' Transactions of the Norfolk 
 and Norwich Naturalists' Society ^ (vol. iii. p. 174), observes 
 that a single Bar-tailed Godwit had frequented a small marsh 
 at Bexhill for several days, when on the 10th of May it was 
 joined by twenty-five more, of which about one third were 
 in full breeding-plumage. On another occasion he observed 
 that the Godwits kept apart from the smaller Waders, and 
 that they did not object to the waves splashing them, 
 though they sometimes almost lifted them ofi^ their feet. 
 
 COMMON CUELEW. 
 
 Nwmenius arguata. 
 
 This species is found in great abundance on the mud flats 
 in spring and autumn, and at high water the birds retire to the 
 full of the beach, or to a short distance inland. They are 
 
250 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 generally very wild, and have always a sentinel" on the 
 watch, whose voice is so loud that he gives notice to all the 
 birds on the shore ; and it is seldom that a shot can be 
 obtained except by the most careful manoeuvring. It is, 
 however, worth son:e trouble, as the flesh is exceedingly 
 good and fetches a high price in the market. 
 
 Willughby mentions that in Suffolk there is a proverb : — 
 
 " A Curlew, be she white or be she black, 
 She carries twelve pence on her back " ; 
 
 and it is one of the luxuries mentioned in the 'Northum- 
 berland Household Book ': — " Item, Kyrlewes to be hadde for 
 my Lord's owne Mees at Principall Feestes, and to be at 
 xii*" a pece.^' 
 
 They feed greatly on cockles and on mussels, crustacea, 
 and small shelled snails, especially Helina ericetontm. As 
 soon as the rocks begin to show above water a long line of 
 these birds may be seen to arrive, uttering their loud cry 
 of " corlieu.^' In April they formerly retired .to the South 
 Downs, where I have often observed them, particularly on 
 the wide expanse known as Plumpton Plain, between Ditch- 
 ling Beacon and Lewes, which was, some fifty years ago, 
 covered with coarse grass, especially Brachydactyla pinnata, 
 among which I always thought it must be nesting, from its 
 constantly flying round and uttering an oft-repeated cry of 
 " Wha-up." I never, however, succeeded in finding the 
 eggs. In the breeding-season it betakes itself to moorlands 
 and open wastes, in the Western, Midland, and Northern 
 Counties, and to the mountains of Wales and Scotland, 
 where it forms a slight nest on the ground, of dry leaves or 
 grass placed in a tuft of rushes. 
 
WHIMBREL. 251 
 
 WHIMBKEL. 
 
 Numenius phoeopus. 
 
 A FEW Whimbrels arrive on our coast in Aprils and in May 
 they become so numerous as to have obtained the name of 
 May-birdSj soon^ however, departing to their breeding-places. 
 This bird is known also as the " Titterel/' and is found in little 
 flocks on the beach at high water, scattering over the mud 
 or sand when the tide is out. Although the main body has 
 left by the end of May, a few may occasionally be met with 
 late in the autumn ; for example, Mr. JeflPery records (p. n.) 
 that several were seen at Pagham, on October 3rd, 1864, 
 and one or two are occasionally observed in the summer. 
 Mr. Dennis states that he found one to contain the claws 
 and other fragments of small crabs, and mentions flocks of 
 Whimbrel on the coast near Cuckmere in May. The Whim- 
 brel has a loud clear note, and is very difficult of approach. 
 
 It much more often goes inland to feed than does the 
 Curlew, and picks up insects and worms as well as small 
 land shells. At the breeding-season it goes as far north as 
 Iceland. Yarrell (B. B.vol.iii. p. 508) states that Major Feilden 
 found a dozen nests in the Faroes, and that the bird is very 
 pugnacious, driving off' even the Common Skua and the 
 Lesser Black-backed Gull, uttering its sharp trilling cry of 
 " Tetty, tetty " while darting to and fro with arrow-like 
 flight. 
 
252 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 GAVI^. 
 LAEID^. 
 
 THE BLACK TEEN. 
 
 Hydrochelidon nigra. 
 
 The Black Tern may be considered a rare visitor^ occurring 
 occasionally on inland ponds and large pieces of fresh water 
 at a distance from the sea. On August 37th, 1853, I 
 observed a small Tern, which I have no doubt was nigra, 
 flying about over the water near the bay of Knepp Pond, or 
 rather Lake, as it consists of about 80 acres, during a very 
 heavy gale from the south-west j notwithstanding which it 
 seemed to be hawkiag for insects. 
 
 Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 253) merely calls it a rare bird in 
 Sussex, and states that it has occasionally been killed at the 
 spring and autumn migrations, or returning from its summer 
 quarters in more inland counties. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) re- 
 cords one, in winter plumage, shot at Ratham on the 22nd 
 September, 1850 ; a female and a young bird at Sidlesham, 
 May 5th, 18^0, the former in fall summer-plumage ; and on 
 October 9th, 1865, another young bird at Paghara. In the 
 ' Zoologist ' (p. 2803) a specimen is recorded by Mr, Potter, 
 which was shot at Balmer, about six miles from Lewes, where 
 it had been seen hawking for insects, for about an hour, over 
 the surface of a freshwater pond. 
 
 Mr. Booth, in his ' Rough Notes,' states that small flocks, 
 flying eastward, usually put in an appearance in the Channel, 
 off the coast of Sussex, during the last week in April, and 
 
WHITE-WINGED BLACK TERN. 253 
 
 that the flight continiies throughout May ; also that he has 
 repeatedly seen them in the muddy harbours of Sussex. 
 
 The Black Tern formerly bred on the marshes about Rye 
 and in the Pevensey Levels, but has long ceased to do so. It 
 also bred in Kent, and in the great fens of Norfolk, Lincoln- 
 shire, and Cambridgeshire, from which last locality I still 
 have eggs which were taken in a very wet part of Quy fen 
 about fifty years ago. The nest is placed in a tuft of sedge 
 or rushes in a shallow pool, and lined with pieces of half- 
 decayed water- weeds. The bird feeds on dragon-flies and 
 other insects, as well as on small flsh. 
 
 Its flight, which I watched with great interest in Holland, 
 is exceedingly buoyant and bat-like. 
 
 Several other specimens have been obtained inland, of 
 which I have not the dates. 
 
 WHITE-WINGED BLACK TEEN. 
 
 Hydrochelidon leucoptera. 
 
 This species is, in fact, much more an inhabitant of the 
 southern than of the northern regions, and its occurrence in 
 Britain is merely as an accidental wanderer, and there appear 
 to be only two recorded instances of its having occurred in 
 Sussex. In May 1873 an adult specimen was killed at South 
 Weighton, near Newhaven, and was preserved for a gentleman 
 residing in that neighbourhood, of which a notice was sent to 
 ' The Field ' of November 13th, 1875, by Mr. T. Colgate, 
 jun. A second example is recorded in the same paper of 
 June 19, 1875, by Mr. Clark Kennedy, as killed some few 
 years previously at Eastbourne. The Black Tern and the 
 present species have never been found breeding in company. 
 
254 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 Its foodj nidification, and general habits, resemble those of 
 the preceding species. The note is said to be harsher and 
 louder. 
 
 THE GULL-BILLED TERN. 
 
 Sterna anglica. 
 
 The recognition of this very distinct species is due to Mon- 
 tagu, whose type specimen, described and figured by him in 
 the Supplement to his Ornithological Dictionary, was shot 
 by himself in Sussex, and should be now preserved, with the 
 rest of his collection in the British Museum ; though the late 
 Mr. G. R. Gray, in his ' Catalogue of British Birds in the 
 Collection of the British Museum,' p. 341, assigned Kent as 
 the locality of the only example in that collection enrolled 
 by him. Be that as it may, there can be no doubt that this 
 county (Sussex) furnished the subject upon which this species 
 is based, a fact the more remarkable wnen its extraordinarily 
 wide range throughout the world is considered. It is not only 
 found breeding in some localities in Europe from Denmark 
 southwards, but apparently across the whole of Asia and its 
 islands to Australia, as well as on the Atlantic coast of 
 America from Connecticut to probably Brazil. At first, Mon- 
 tagu thought that the bird he obtained in Sussex — ^he unfor- 
 tunately does not give the precise locality or date — was an 
 example of the Sandwich Tern, which species had not long 
 before been described by Latham ; but on becoming the pos- 
 sessor of his type specimen of that species, which should 
 now be in the British Museum, Montagu, of course, saw 
 how very distinct they were, and accordingly did not hesitate 
 to describe the present one as new. From his statement that 
 
GULL-BILT.ED TERN. 266 
 
 not only had he shot his original specimen in Sussexj but 
 that he had known others killed ahout Rye, we might be 
 entitled to infer that the Gull-billed Tern may have in those 
 days bred on our shores ; but perhaps it might be safer not 
 so to Ao, even though we might be tempted to adopt the 
 contrary belief, from an assertion of the late Mr, Rodd 
 ('Birds of Cornwall/ p. 166) that a private collection at 
 Penzance contains a bird of this species, presented by Mr. 
 Rice of South Hill, together with a portion of an egg which 
 dropped when he shot the bird near Brighton. I find in my 
 own notes that in the first week of May, 1855, a very perfect 
 specimen, in full summer plumage, was shot halfway between 
 Shorehatn and Brighton. On examining this example I 
 found that the head was not jet-black, as described by Yarrell, 
 but glossed" with the same green colour which pervades the 
 plumage of the Crested Cormorant. This specimen was 
 preserved by Mr. Pratt, of Brighton. Mr. Knox records (0. 
 R. p. 353) that he has a specimen killed at Rye, and there is 
 another in the Chichester Museum which was obtained at 
 Selsey on March 31st, 1852. Mr. Yarrell (B. B. vol. iii. 
 p. 534) says that the Gull-billed Tern breeds on islands or 
 sand-bants in lagoons, the nests being merely slight hollows, 
 with, at times, a few bits of sea- weed or dry grass for a lining, 
 and that its food consists of frogs, crabs, and fish ; that it 
 feeds also on grasshoppers and beetles, which it captures on 
 the wing, and that the flight is very graceful, though not very 
 rapid. It is partial to lakes of fresh or brackish water, and 
 forms a natural link between the Marsh Terns and those 
 which frequent the coast. A Gull-billed Tern was shot out 
 of a party of three, near Portslade, and was preserved by Mr. 
 Pratt, of Brighton, June 27, 1855. 
 
256 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 THE SANDWICH TERN. 
 
 Sterna cantiaca. 
 
 This Tern may be seen on our coast every spring, though it 
 is never very numerous. Arriving in April, it remains the 
 greater part of the summer, and may be met with occasionally 
 all along the shore. It does not now breed in the county, 
 though formerly the eggs were not unfrequently found on 
 the extensive tract of beach in the neighbourhood of Win- 
 chelsea and Eye. It now goes further north in the breeding- 
 season. The nest consists purely of a depression in the sand, 
 or occasionally it is placed among the drif ted^sea-weed above 
 high-water mark. 
 
 The voice is powerful, and may be heard from a great dis- 
 tance, resembling the words "kirhitt, kirhitt." The bird 
 feeds on insects and small fish. In my own notes I have the fol- 
 lowing : — " A Sandwich Tern was shot off Brighton in the 
 first week of April 1844, in full summer plumage : another 
 similar specimen near Shoreham in the beginning of May 
 1866." Mr. Knox (O. R, p. 243) says that specimens have 
 been obtained at Pevensey, Rye, and Selsey, in May and June, 
 and in the autumnal months. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) mentions 
 an immature bird, a female, shot at Pagham Harbour, on 
 October 12th, 1861, and an adult male at Sidlesham on May 
 11th, 1863. 
 
ROSEATE TERN.— COMMON TERN. 257 
 
 ROSEATE TERN. 
 
 Sterna dougalli. 
 
 This is the most elegant, as well as the rarest, of our native 
 Terns. I can find but one record of its having visited the 
 Sussex coast, viz. that of Mr. Southwell, of Norwich, in the 
 'Zoologist' for 1885 (p. 481), stating that a specimen in the 
 collection of Mr. Rising, of Horsey, near Great Yarmouth, 
 was shot on the Sussex coast, near Eastbourne, about the 
 year 1848. At the sale of this collection in September, 1885, 
 the bird was purchased by Mr. Ashmead, the taxidermist of 
 Bishopsgate Street, London. 
 
 This Tern formerly bred on one of the Scilly Isles, and 
 more lately on the Fames, as well as on a few islands off the 
 coast of Scotland and Ireland. Though it has a very wide 
 range, its diminution at all its breeding-quarters leads one 
 to fear that it is doomed to become an extinct species. 
 
 COMMON TERN. 
 
 Sterna fiwmatilis. 
 
 This is the most abundant of all the Terns on the ■ coast of 
 Sussex, known also as the Sea-Swallow, and is a constant 
 summer visitant. Our rivers not being sufficiently large to 
 induce it to go far inland, it is, with us, rarely met with far 
 from the sea. 
 
 It occasionally occurs, however, on some of the larger 
 pieces of water, feeding principally on small fish. On the 
 
258 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 18th of September, 1839, there being a very large flood on 
 the Henfield Level, I observed several of this species flying 
 over the water, and was much interested in watching the 
 perseverance with which they beat against a strong gale till, 
 arriving a a certain point, they would at once turn and dart 
 before the wind with immense velocity to the , furthest 
 extremity of the water, and again beat up, although the 
 wind was so strong that they sometimes appeared almost 
 stationary ; and this they did for an hour or more, when 
 I left them. On the same day a solitary bird was shot 
 on the River Ouse, at Lindfield, at least fifteen miles from 
 the sea. 
 
 Mr. Jeffery states (p. n.) that after a heavy gale eighteen 
 of these birds were shot in Chichester Harbour on April 18th, 
 1866; one of them, which he examined, contained fourteen 
 or fifteen common shrimps. Mr. Jefiery also mentions that 
 one was shot over a small pond at Ashling, where it was 
 so intent on catching small gold-fish that it would. not be 
 driven away, and was found on examination to contain five 
 or six of them. The Common Tern formerly bred on the 
 beach from Rye Harbour to beyond Winchelsea, and a 
 few continue to do so. The nest is a mere shallow hole 
 scratched in the sand or shingle or placed among the drifted 
 sea-weed, and lined with little pieces of sea-thrift or dry 
 grass. 
 
ARCTIC TERN 259 
 
 AECTIC TEEN. 
 
 Sterna macrura. ' 
 
 The Arctic Tern is frequently seen in company with the 
 Sea-Swallow. On the 18th, 19th, and 20th of May, 1842, a 
 continuous stream of small flocks of the former species passed 
 all along the coast of Sussex. There must have been several 
 thousands of them, and many hundreds were wantonly shot 
 from the beach, especially at Brighton. I well remember 
 hearing of numbers having appeared on the Cam from Cam- 
 bridge to Ely. In fact, this extraordinary visitation appears 
 to have been general. In the Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (pp. 
 352, 353) it is stated by Mr. H. E. Strickland that these 
 birds were abundant at Clevedon, Weston, and Bristol, at 
 which last place more than two hundred were killed ; also 
 that on the 8th and 9th of May one bird-stuflFer at Evesham 
 received no less than forty specimens, and that considerable 
 numbers were obtained at Tewkesbury, Worcester, Hereford, 
 Devizes, and Trowbridge; and that he was informed that 
 seven hundred were seen at Crofton Hall, near Bromsgrove. 
 Numbers also appeared at Swansea, Monmouth, and Bridg- 
 water, as well as in Dorsetshire and Cornwall, 
 
 In October 1843 several adult birds and a young one 
 were shot near Shoreham. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) remarks 
 that a large flight of Arctic, Common, and Lesser Terns 
 were seen swimming in Pagham Harbour on October 11, 
 1865. 
 
 Mr. Knox states that the Arctic Tern is more numerous in 
 May and June on the shingle at Pevensey than the Common 
 Tern. Mr. J. H. Gurney states, on the authority of 
 
 s2 
 
260 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 Mr. Button, that he believes it still breeds near St. Leonards, 
 that there is a considerable colony at Pevensey, and that with 
 the help of a dog, without which it is almost impossible to dis- 
 cover them, he found eight nests of three eggs each and three 
 with only one. Its food and habits are similar to those of 
 the Common Tern. 
 
 LESSER TERN. 
 
 Sterna minuta. 
 
 This, the smallest of our British Terns, is not very plentiful, 
 though it occurs all along the coast and breeds with us in a 
 few places, particularly in the eastward portion of the county, 
 making its first appearance in May. It feeds on surface- 
 swimming Crustacea and small fish, on which it pounces while 
 on the wing. 
 
 It is occasionally met with off Shoreham and Worthing, 
 and there is a colony at Rye. Mr. Jefiery notes that on 
 May 9th, 1864, five were shot in Pagham Harbour, and that 
 he had examined an immature specimen shot at the same 
 place, and found it crammed with small fish. He also says 
 that on May 30th, 1866, four were shot at Sidlesham, and on 
 the same day thirteen were killed there at two shots. Its 
 habits and the situation of its nest are similar to those of the 
 Common Tern. In large floods and in heavy gales it is now 
 and then found on fresh water at a considerable distance 
 from the sea. 
 
SABINE'S GULL. 261 
 
 SABINE'S GULL. 
 
 Xema sabinii. 
 
 This Gull is a rare straggler to the British coast, being an 
 inhabitant of the polar regions. It was first noticed by 
 Captain, afterwards General Sir Edward Sabine, when 
 accompanying one of the expeditions in search of a North- 
 West passage, on a group of low rocks on the west coast of 
 Greenland. It gets its food on the sea beach, standing 
 near the water's edge, and picking up the marine insects 
 which are cast ashore. See Mr. Dresser's ' Birds of Europe,' 
 vol. viii. p. 338. 
 
 In the severe weather of December 1853, a specimen of 
 this Gull was obtained by the gardener of Mr. Catt, at the 
 Tide Mill, near Newhaven ; it was an immature bird, and 
 was recorded by me in the ' Zoologist ' (p. 4408) . Another 
 immature specimen was picked up in a dying state at Hove 
 in September 1871 ; on examination there were no shot- 
 marks found on the skin, and as it was in good condition, it 
 seems probable that it had flown against some object. It is 
 now in my own collection. Mr. Dawson Howley records 
 another in the same plumage, shot at Hove during a severe 
 equinoctial gale on October 7th, 1858; and lastly one is 
 mentioned by Mr. Harting in his ' Handbook of B. B.' on 
 the authority of Mr. J. H. Gurney, as killed near East- 
 bourne, October 18th, 1870. In addition to the above I am 
 informed by Mr. Pratt, of Queen's Road, Brighton, that he 
 had received one, killed at Black Rock, near that town, 
 and two from Portslade. 
 
262 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 BONAPAKTIAN GULL. 
 
 Lams Philadelphia. 
 
 This exceedingly rare straggler has only once occurred on 
 the coast of Sussex, and was first noticed by Mr. Cecil 
 Smith, of Bishop's Lydeard, Taunton, while looking through 
 the collection of Mr. F. Persehouse, of Torquay. It was in 
 the same plumage as that of the centre figure in Yarrell. 
 The following is Mr. Persehouse's account of its capture : — 
 " It is some years since I shot it, and I cannot supply the 
 exact date, but it was early in November 1870, at St. 
 Leonards-on-Sea, at the west end of the promenade. It 
 was with a number of Black-headed and Kittiwake Gulls, 
 and I mistook it at first for L. minutus. It is an immature 
 specimen." ('Zoologist,' 1883, p. 120.) It was reported in 
 the ' Field' of April 14th, 1888. Mr. Persehouse showed 
 me this example when I was at Torquay. I think it was in 
 1872. 
 
 LITTLE GULL. 
 
 Larus minutus. 
 
 An immature specimen was shot by Mr. Dennis on October 
 16th, 1846, as it passed over his head, while on the beach at 
 Seaford, on the western side of the bay, after a heavy gale 
 from the east. It was then thought a very rare bird. 
 
 I purchased a Little Gull which had been shot near Lewes 
 on the 29th of November, 1849, in winter plumage, and 
 nearly mature ; and in the same winter Mr. Dennis obtained 
 
LITTLE GULL. 263 
 
 an immature bird, which I saw at the Rectory at East 
 Blatchington. It was brought to him alive, and covered 
 with wet blood, by a coastguardsman who had shot it at 
 Seaford. It had, however, quite recovered and was very 
 tame, readily taking raw meat from the hand, and would 
 scold at a great rate if not attended to. It had learned to 
 beg for food, and was just getting into mature plumage, 
 when it was accidentally killed by the slamming of a door 
 on June 16th, 1850. A coloured drawing of this specimen 
 was sent to Mr. Knox by Mrs. Rickman, of Lewes. See O. 
 R. p. 254, where is mentioned another example which was 
 shot by a fisherman near Brighton on November lOtb, 1853, 
 and preserved by Mr. Swaysland. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) records 
 one, now in Chichester Museum, shot December 1st, 1868 ; 
 another at Chidham, January 1st, 1870 j one at Selsey, 
 February 1874; a fourth at Fishbourne, December 1876; a 
 fifth at Pagham, January 1877 ; and a sixth at Itchenor on 
 December 1st of the same year. Mr. Dresser (vol. viii. 
 p. 378) states that it was very common at Novaya Ladoga 
 in 1852, breeding on small floating islands in a morass. In 
 the stomachs were found insects which they caught in the 
 air, making graceful and quick evolutions, in which they 
 almost surpassed the Goatsucker. In a marsh in the same 
 neighbourhood were found by Mr. Meves nests similarly 
 situated among low plants, often quite close together, of 
 which some were placed on the edge, and others in the 
 centre of the islands, and composed of flags, scirpus, and 
 grass-straws, some carefully, others carelessly constructed. 
 On examining the birds it was found that they had been 
 feeding principally on small fishes and on a few insects. 
 
264 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 BLACK-HEADED GULL. 
 
 Larus ridibundus. 
 
 This Gull is exceedingly abundant on all parts o£ the coast 
 throughout the winter, but does not now breed in the 
 county. It feeds greatly on the cultivated land, where it 
 follows the plough, as the Rooks do, in search of grubs and 
 worms. 
 
 The nearest breeding-places are on Romney Marsh, in 
 Kent, and in the neighbourhood of Poole Harbour, Dorset, 
 but the greater part go to the meres of Norfolk, Lincoln- 
 shire, and Yorkshire, where they assemble in vast numbers, 
 and whence their eggs are every year sent to the London 
 market. 
 
 In some seasons from ten to twenty thousand eggs have 
 been taken. In 1825 they fetched, according to Yarrell 
 (vol. iii. p. 597), ^d. a score; and in 1870 they were sold 
 on the spot at from 9^, to Is. the score. It breeds in many 
 other counties of England and Scotland, and as far north as 
 the Shetland and Faroe Isles. Its note is a hoarse cackle 
 resembling a laugh. It feeds on Crustacea and fish on the 
 coast, and on any floating garbage, moUusks, and insects, 
 frequently visiting pastures, where it finds the crane-fly, 
 of which ib is particularly fond. It also catches chafers on 
 the wing, and will feed on mice and small birds as well as 
 on corn. 
 
 The flight is very beautiful and buoyant. Not long ago 
 I was much interested in watching the evolutions of these 
 Gulls on the Caledonian Canal, where they followed the 
 steamer from Inverness to Fort Augustus. This is also 
 called the Peewit Gull. 
 
BLACK-HEADED GULL. 265 
 
 On the 23rd of February, 1853, I received a so-called 
 Masked Gull, Larus capistratus, which had been taken alive 
 off Brighton, on a hook baited with liver. I turned it down 
 on my pond, hoping to observe its changes of plumage. On 
 the 24th of April in the same year I find this note : — " The 
 Gull caught off Brighton, February 22nd, has this day 
 completed its change from the winter to the summer 
 plumage, having assumed a black, or rather dark brown 
 semi-hood on the upper part of the head, not extending 
 backward beyond the eyes — the back of the head, as well as 
 that of the neck, remaining pure white." It fed well on 
 barley and oats. By the 4th of August il had assumed a few 
 speck-like white feathers round the eyes, and they remained 
 unchanged till late in the month of September, when it 
 resumed its winter plumage, the same as when I first 
 received it. The next spring the changes were similar, but 
 on December 4th, 1854, I was sorry to find it dead and 
 nearly eaten by a Great Black-backed Gull, by which it had 
 never before been ill-treated, having lived with it in amity 
 lor many months. 
 
 [Respecting the Laughing Gull, L. atricilla, which was 
 admitted as a British species in the three former editions of 
 Yarrell, I find the following among some notes kindly lent 
 me by Mr. Thomas Parkin, of Halton, Hastings : — " At a 
 meeting of the Zoological Society, held early in March 1884, 
 Mr. Howard Saunders made some observations on the 
 specimen of L. atricilla in the British Museum, said to be 
 the one killed by Montagu at Winchelsea, and came to the 
 conclusion that the bird in question was not that of Mon- 
 tagu." Accordingly, in the last edition of Yarrell (vol. iii. 
 p. 606j, he states that it was admitted into the British list 
 
268 THE BIRDS OP SUSSEX. 
 
 owing to a misapprehension on the part of Montagu and his 
 contemporaries. 
 
 Rhodostethia rosea. — Respecting the so-called Ross's Rosy 
 Gull, recorded by Mr. EUman (' Zoologist/ p. 3388), the 
 specimen was shown to me, and I told him that it was 
 merely an unusually rosy example of L. ridibundus ; but as 
 he was not satisfied, I, to satisfy him, took it to the British 
 Museum, thinking to compare it with others. There was, 
 however, no specimen of Ross's Gull there, but Dr. John 
 Edward Gray quite agreed with me that it was L. ridi- 
 bundus.] 
 
 COMMON GULL. , 
 
 Larus canus. 
 
 Though called the Common Gull, it is not nearly so abundant 
 as the Black-headed Gull, but from autumn to spring it may 
 be found along the coast, more particularly about the harbours, 
 where it may be seen picking up the floating refuse among 
 the shipping. It also follows the plough, like L. ridibundus, 
 and feeds on similar substances. In confinement it may be 
 kept in good condition on maize, barley, or wheat. In 
 heavy gales it is sometimes driven far inland. Yarrell 
 describes the nest as large, whether on marsh or rock, and 
 constructed of sea-weeds, heather, grass, and sea-pink. On 
 some of the Scotch lakes I have observed it perching on 
 trees. 
 
HERRING-GULL. 2G7 
 
 HERRING-GULL. 
 
 Larus argentatus. 
 
 In the mature state this Gull is known on some parts of the 
 coast as the " Cob," and . in the immature as the " Grey 
 Cob " or " Wagell," and is perhaps the commonest of the 
 genus all through the summer. It feeds greatly on grain, 
 often doing considerable damage by digging up and devour- 
 ing the corn just as it is beginning to sprout, and is said in 
 very hard weather to bite out and devour pieces from the 
 turnip roots. It also eats fish, mice, small mussels, &c., 
 and is a great destroyer of eggs in its breeding-places, even 
 pillaging the nests of its congeners. It often goes far 
 inland for food, following the plough, or turning up the soil 
 of the newly- ploughed fields. 
 
 The Herring-Gull is a dangerous pet, as it will murder 
 any of its companions it can master, and eat them too. 
 
 The nests are generally formed of dry grass and sea-weed. 
 These birds are frequently seen to trample the sand, probably 
 to make the worms rise to the surface. Large flights often 
 follow the herring-boats in the Channel to pick up the 
 refuse fish and Crustacea, which are thrown overboard after 
 a haul, and on these occasions they are very noisy and 
 quarrelsome. Unless this is the reason, it is difficult to say 
 whence the name of Herring-Gull is derived, as that fish 
 does not seem to be an especial favourite with this Gull. 
 It is frequently seen to take up cockles, mussels, &c., 
 to great heights in the air, dropping them on the rocks to 
 break the shells. 
 
 Having kept some of these birds for several years, I had 
 
268 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 an excellent opportunity of observing their notes, of whicli 
 they have a considerable variety, at times resembling the 
 bark of a small dog, at others the mewing of a cat in 
 distress ; this is uttered with the neck stretched out hori- 
 zontally, close to the ground. It has also a note much 
 resembling the sharp cry of an Eagle ; the head and bill are 
 then pointed straight upward toward the sky, the bird 
 raising itself to its full height, and stretching up its neck to 
 its greatest length. It is very dexterous in catching insects, 
 both on and in the water as well as on the wing. It was 
 very amusing to watch these Gulls sitting round a Duck 
 whilst she was laying her egg, which was no sooner done than 
 one of them would stick his bill into it and run off, till one of 
 the others overtaking him, he would drop it, and it would 
 be seized by another, till the egg was broken, when there 
 was a general fight for the contents. This Gull breeds in 
 small numbers in the cliff near New haven. I am informed 
 by Mr. Bates, naturalist, Eastbourne, that it breeds also 
 on the cliff just to the westward of Belle Tout Lighthouse. 
 
 LESSEE BLACK-BACKED GULL. 
 
 Larus fuscus. 
 
 Mr. Knox calls this Gull far from common, and says that a 
 few breed at Newhaven ; I do not think it now breeds in 
 the county, and I doubt whether it does so anywhere on 
 the south coast. It is certainly not so numerous as 
 the Herring-Gull, and it spends the greater part of its 
 time further out at sea, where considerable flocks attend 
 the herring-boats, even pulling the fish out of the nets, and 
 being so troublesome that Mr. Booth tells us he has been 
 
GREAT BLAOK-BAOKED GULL. 269 
 
 requested by fisliermen to shoot them. A few may occa- 
 sionally be seen about Brighton, especially attracted by the 
 fish which are lost on the unlading of the boats ; and at 
 the great outfall of the Brighton sewage, a couple of miles 
 or so east of the town, large numbers are often seen picking 
 up the floating garbage. They are said to be much more 
 partial to inland lakes than the Herring-Gull, and, as with 
 the other larger species of Gull, birds in immature plumage 
 are more common than adults. In confinement they will do 
 well on greaves and maize, and are fond of mice and small 
 birds, which they always swallow whole, having first dipped 
 them in water. Mr. Booth mentions that in Caithness large 
 numbers nest on the dampest part of the flats in the central 
 portions of the county, or on the rocky ledges of the north- 
 west, and on the stretch of marsh land surrounding the 
 inland lochs and pools in the outlying islands. He also 
 states that he fully believes that this Gull does not attain 
 its mature plumage until five years old. 
 
 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. 
 
 Larus marimcs. 
 
 This noble Gull may be found at all seasons round our 
 coast, and frequently goes far inland, especially in rough 
 weather. On November 20th, 1854, one of these birds was 
 brought me which had been taken alive on Broadmere 
 Common, near Henfield, with its feet and bill so clogged 
 with the tenacious Wealden clay that it could not rise from 
 the ground. It was an ^dult, in the finest winter plumage ; 
 it seemed perfectly unconcerned,, and would eat any flesh 
 
270 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 which was thrown to it. I only kept it a few days and 
 restored it to the man who caught it, fearing it might 
 maltreat-some of my other pets if turned down with them. 
 This Gull has been accused of attacking young lambs or 
 weakly sheep, but of this I have no proof, and I have never 
 heard of its interfering in any way with the vast flocks of sheep 
 on the South Downs. It feeds on the foulest carrion, dead 
 fish, or any wounded bird it can find, often attending the 
 gunners when in search of wildfowl. It may be easily 
 caught in traps baited with a piece of flesh. On the coast 
 it forms a roughly constructed nest, on the upper ledge of a 
 cliff, or in a cavity among the bare stones, composed of 
 coarse herbage and sea-weed, or on the islands of a loch, or 
 on the open moor. 
 
 GLAUCOUS GULL. 
 
 Lams glauciis. 
 
 A SOMEWHAT rare visitant to our coast, though from time 
 to time a considerable number have been met with. 
 
 1 have a note that, in December 1852, Mr. Dennis had a 
 specimen brought him which had been taken at Seaford, 
 which so severely bit the man who caught it that he refused 
 to touch it again, and Mr. Dennis had to get the bird into a 
 basket ; it was in not quite mature plumage. Another of 
 my notes records that at the beginning of January 1859 an 
 immature specimen was shot off Shoreham. This bird was 
 flying very high, in company with two others which appeared 
 to be similar. 
 
 Mr. Knox mentions (O. R. p. 255) an immature bird 
 taken by a boy from the Chain Pier at Brighton, by means 
 
GLAUCOUS GULL. 271 
 
 of the click, which consists of a piece of cork rudely 
 fashioned after the likeness of a fish, over which is spread 
 the skin of a mackerel, from which the hooks project, baited 
 with morsels of liver, a long line being attached to it and 
 allowed to float with the. tide — many Gulls of diff'ercnt 
 species being taken in this way every year. 
 
 Mr. Booth mentions that he saw a mature Glaucous Gull 
 flying between St. Leonards and the sea, and that on the 
 following day a specimen exactly resembling it was brought 
 to a bird-stuffer in that town, which had been shot on the 
 large expanse of shingle that stretches along the shore 
 adjoining Pevensey Level. Mr. JefiFery notes one which was 
 shot at Selsey, in Janiiary 1870, and passed into his collection ; 
 another, now in Chichester Museum, shot at the same place 
 January 15th, 1873 ; and in 1882, in the same month, an 
 immature specimen obtained at Itchenor. 
 
 In the 'Zoologist' (p. 6606) Mr. Wilson has recorded one 
 killed at Worthing in December 1857, with no remark. 
 The Glaucous Gull being a comparatively rare winter visitor, 
 I give from Mr. Dresser's ' Birds of Europe' (vol. viii. p. 437) 
 the following description of its habits, which, he says, assimi- 
 late closely to those of the Great Black-backed Gull. Like 
 that species, it is extremely voracious, and commits great 
 depredations amongst the eggs and young of other sea-birds 
 and water-fowl, and, to a large extent, it feeds both its young 
 and itself on the eggs and nestlings in down of its weaker 
 neighbours, and renders itself a perfect pest to them. The 
 young of the Eider, and of several other of the sea-ducks, are 
 looked on by it as tender morsels ; and in places in the extreme 
 north, where these birds breed in large numbers, the Glaucous 
 Gull is almost sure to be present, devouring many of the 
 young, pouncing down on and catching them just as it 
 requires them. It doubtless also catches the smaller species 
 of mammals, and waits to take possession of the remnants 
 
272 THE BIEDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 left by the seal-hunters when they have cut up a seal • 
 wherever the carcass of a whale or seal is cast ashore, these 
 Gulls collect together, like vultures, to regale on it. The 
 call-note, or cry, of this species closely resembles that of L. 
 marinus, as does also its flight; but where the two species 
 are found they keep apart in separate flocks. In its native 
 Arctic regions, it pertinaciously follows the whaling-ships, 
 feeding greedily on the blubber. 
 
 ICELAND GULL. 
 
 Larus leucqpterus. 
 
 This is even rarer as a visitor than the last-described species. 
 An immature specimen is said, by Mr. Knox, to have been 
 shot near Pagham in January 1852, which was placed in 
 Chichester Museum. 
 
 In December 1889, or the following month, an Iceland Gull, 
 also immature, was brought to Mr. Pratt, which had been 
 shot at the outfall of the Brighton sewage at Bolsover. Of its 
 habits little has been recorded. Mr. Saxby, in his ' Birds of 
 Shetland,' p. 337, observes that this bird " seems to be partial 
 to vegetable food, often resorting to the fields, where it may 
 not seldom be seen near the pigs, which in Shetland are 
 tethered by long ropes fastened to a stone or to a stake in 
 the ground. Possibly the earth-worms rooted up may be an 
 attraction. In the stomach I have found a considerable 
 quantity of oats and vegetable fibre, with numerous small 
 pieces of quartz.'' It breeds plentifully in Greenland, and 
 also in North America, laying its eggs in a mere depression 
 scratched in the ground. 
 
 In the 'Field,' April 10th, 1890, Mr. G. H. Nelson records 
 
ICELA.ND GULL.— KITTIWAKE GULL, 273 
 
 that he shot an Iceland Gull, at Beachy Head, on January 
 21st, 1880. 
 
 It requires very careful examination to distinguish the 
 young of this species from that of the Glaucous Gull. I 
 have no doubt respecting the example received by Mr. Pratt, 
 as mentioned above. The specimens of the Glaucous Gull 
 often vary greatly in size. 
 
 KITTIWAKE GULL. 
 
 Rissa tridactyla. 
 
 The Kittiwake frequents our coast throughout the year, but 
 is most abundant in spring and autumn, feeding on surface- 
 swimming fish and Crustacea. In heavy gales, and when 
 the sea is too rough for it, it is often found inland in large 
 flocks, but seldom goes far from the shore in calm weather. 
 It may often be seen following the plough, and some years ago 
 one was caught at Cowfold, with its feet and legs so weighted 
 with clay that it could not rise ; — this is about twelve miles 
 from the sea. 
 
 It does not now breed in Sussex, but on many parts of the 
 north and west coasts its nest is placed on narrow ledges of 
 the cliflFs, and is formed of sea-weed. Great numbers are 
 usually placed in close proximity. 
 
 The plumage is in great demand with the " plumassier," 
 the barred wings of the young bird being most in fashion. 
 
 Mr. Booth states that at Glovelly, opposite Lundy Island, 
 vast numbers were annually slain, and there was a regular 
 staff for preparing the plumage. In many cases the wings 
 were torn off and the live birds thrown back into the water, 
 and this abominable cruelty and destruction, commencing on 
 
 T 
 
2?4 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX; 
 
 August 1st, continued for a fortnight. Hundreds of young 
 birds were left dead and dying from starvation in their nests. 
 On one day seven hundred were sent to Clovellyj on another 
 five hundred, and so on, about nine thousand of these birds 
 being destroyed in the course of this wanton onslaught upon 
 them. The Kittiwake is said to be very good eating. In 
 Yarrell (B. B. vol. iii. p. 654) is found the following : — " In 
 olden times this Gull was considered good food, and Sir Robert 
 Sibbald says that 'The Kittiweak is as good meat as a 
 partridge,' an opinion endorsed in. later times by those 
 iahabitants of Scotland who relish Gannets. There is an 
 old story, told by Pennant, of a gentleman who, as a 
 whet to his appetite before dinner, ate six and did not find 
 himself a bit less hungry than when he began. Sir James 
 C. Ross says, ' We killed enough to supply our party with 
 several excellent meals, and found them delicious food, 
 perfectly free from any unpleasant flavour.' * 
 
 IVORY GULL. 
 
 Pagophila ehurnea. 
 
 This inhabitant of the Arctic regions is an extremely rare 
 visitor to our coast. In its native haunts it feeds on the 
 blubber of whales and seals, and on any animal matter, putrid 
 or fresh. The first egg of this bird, the only one ia the nest, 
 was found by Sir Leopold M'Clintock on the beach of one 
 of the Polynia Islands, by him named Ireland's Eye, in latitude 
 78°, during the Arctic Expedition of 1853-53. He brought , 
 this egg to Ireland, and it is now in the Museum of the Royal 
 Dublin Society. He states that the nest was built of moss, 
 with a little white down and a few feathers. See ' Ibis,' 1866, 
 
IVORY GULL.— GREAT SKUA. 275 
 
 p. 317. Yarrell (B. B. vol. iii. p. 659) observes that 
 Dr. Malmgren found a number of this species established in 
 the lower niches of the rocks and precipices in Murchison 
 .Bay (lat. 80° N., long 30° B.), at a height of a hundred feet ; 
 that two nests were reached, and proved to be shallow depres- 
 sions lined with dry plants, grass, and moss, with a few 
 feathers. Each contained one much-incubated' egg, which 
 were placed in the Stockholm Museum, but one of them is 
 now in the collection of Professor Newton. Mr. Knox 
 (O. R. pp. 253, 254) states that it has been obtained twice 
 near Brighton, and that he had seen a specimen at Mr. John- 
 son's, chemist, St. Leonards-on-Sea, which was found on the 
 beach in a dying state; and mentions that' during the winter 
 of 1848 an example occurred near Rye. 
 
 Mr. Wilson (' Zoologist,' p. 6606), in a list of birds shot near 
 Worthing, includes "Ivory Gull, 1845," without further 
 notice ; and Mr, Ellman, writing in the same journal 
 September 23rd, 1848, says that he saw at a bird-stufEer's at 
 Hastings a few weeks before an Ivory GruU which he told 
 him was shot in that neighbourhood a short time previously 
 (p. 2304). 
 
 GEEAT SKUA. 
 
 Stercorarius catarrhactes. 
 
 The first mention of this species in my notes is that in 
 January 1830 an adult specimen was picked up dead off 
 the Chain Pier at Brighton. It was floating in the sea, and 
 appeared to have been some days in the water, but was 
 preserved for my collection. Another, in good condition, 
 was caught on a hook by a fisherman off Brighton, Novem- 
 ber 10th, 184G, in perfect plumage, and proved very tame, 
 
 ■c2 
 
276 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 almost suffering itself to be taken by the hand ; this also 
 is in ray collection. A third was caught off Brighton in 
 November 1851 ; on February 5thj 1880, 1 saw one flying 
 off Brighton, so near the shore that I could see the white 
 bar on the wing ; and on the 7ih, a bird, probably the 
 same, was shown me at Mr. Pratt's. It was in good 
 condition, though most of those taken on our coast have 
 been in a somewhat emaciated state. Mr. Knox (0. E. 
 p. 259) states, without further date, that one was caught 
 on the beach at Brighton in November while eating a 
 dead cat, from which it was with difficulty separated; he 
 also mentions another, killed at Worthing, and my bird 
 of 1830. 
 
 The Great Skua watches the Gulls feeding, and when one 
 has taken a fish, immediately gives chase, till the persecuted 
 bird is obliged to drop — or if swallowed to disgorge — ^its 
 prey, and the Skua picks it up before it reaches the water. 
 It feeds also on the blubber of whales and seals, and on 
 flesh and carrion of every kind, which its powerful beak and 
 sharp hooked claws are well adapted for tearing in pieces. 
 The only British breeding-places are in the Shetland Isles. 
 The nest is stated in Yarrell (B. B. vol. iii. p. 665) to he a 
 neatly rounded cavity in the moss or heather of the highest 
 moorlands. It is a very courageous bird, and in defence of 
 its nest or young will attack man or beast. 
 
 Mr. Jeffery ('Zoologist,' p. 811, s.s.) records that on 
 February 6th, 1867, one was caught alive, which had lost 
 an eye in conflict with another bird, and was purchased 
 for the Chichester Museum. 
 
POMATORHINE SKUA. 277 
 
 POMATORHINE SKUA. 
 
 Stercorarius pomatorhinus. 
 
 I FiNDj in my own noteSj the record of an immature example 
 of this Skua, shot at Hangleton by Mr. Hardwick of that 
 place, on October 27th, 1837. In 1841 two more were shot, 
 the one, at Shoreham Harbour, on October 17th, the other, 
 which was immature, at Brighton on November 3nd. The 
 former was moulting, particularly about the head and neck, 
 the long feathers of those parts having lost the greater 
 portion of the straw-coloured tips. 
 
 Mr. Dennis, writing in October 1857, tells me that a 
 piece of flooded ground, near Seaford, was visited by a small 
 flock of Skuas, and that he shot two of this species ; the 
 mouth of one of them was crammed with earth-worms. He 
 also informed me on another occasion that an adult speci- 
 men was shot at Seaford on October 27th, 1858. Yarrell 
 (B. B. vol. iii. p. 668) observes that the first notice of this 
 bird, as British, appears in the Catalogue of Mr. Bullock's 
 collection, sold in 1819, in which was a specimen said to 
 have been killed at Brighton *. Mr. Knox merely remarks 
 that the species had been shot at Brighton, Shoreham, 
 Bognor, Newhaven, and Hastings. 
 
 Mr. Booth states that numbers are occasionally seen in 
 the Channel, and that during a terrible gale from the south 
 on October 34th, 1852, a small party of Skuas of this 
 species were blown inland at Shoreham, and settled for a 
 time in a stubble field, and that the whole number were in 
 
 * Prof. Newton's annotated copy of this Catalogue shows that the 
 specimen was bought by Dr. Leach for the British Museum, and it is 
 entered in Mr. G. E. Gray's ' Catalogue of British Birds ' in that 
 Collection with the locality "North Britain" ! 
 
278 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 immature plumage. He says that he had seldom met with 
 these birds at any distance from the shore. . They seldom 
 attack the larger Gulls, but follow the herring-boats^ and rob 
 the smaller ones and the Terns of the fish they steal from the 
 nets. The nest has not been found in Britain. 
 
 In the 'Zoologist' (p. 3331), Mr. EUman notes a pair 
 shot ofi' Hastings in the early part of October 1851 ; and in 
 the same work Mr. Jeffery gives the following quotation 
 from the 'West Sussex Gazette' of Dec. 38th, 1865, 
 (p. 142, s. s.) : — " A few days ago, as a young man named 
 Collins was wheeling a barrow in a lane, loaded with flesh 
 for dogs, he was suddenly startled by the appearance of a 
 large bird alighting on the flesh, and beginning rapidly to 
 make a meal from it. The young man stepped back to the 
 roadside, and took a long piece of string from his pocket, 
 with which to form a noose. The bird had» flown a short 
 distance during this operation. Two sticks were placed on 
 the flesh and the noose laid on them. With the end of the 
 string in his hand he stood back three or four yards ; the 
 bird soon came again, and stepping into the noose was 
 easily captured. It was kept several days alive, but from 
 being confined in too small a place its feathers became 
 worn." The bird was presented to Mr. A. E. Knox, 
 who, in acknowledging it, wrote that it was the only adult 
 specimen of the species he had ever met with in Sussex, 
 "the breast being of a dirty white instead of the usual 
 mottled brown, which is characteristic of the immature 
 bird." 
 
 Mr. Button, ' Zoologist ' (p. 1099), writes that a few of 
 tbese birds generally occur in the sprat season in November^- 
 and that four, all immature, were shot ofi' Eastbourne in 
 tbat month of 1867. 
 
ARCTIC OR RICHARDSON'S SKUA. 279 
 
 ARCTIC OR RICHARDSON'S SKUA. 
 
 Stercorarius crepidatus. 
 
 After a tremendous gale on September 16th, 1840^ one of 
 this species was killed with a stone on the beach at Brighton^ 
 in the dark plumage *, and having the middle tail-feathers 
 considerably elongated. 
 
 A second but immature example was killed at Worthing on 
 November 3nd, 1841, and on November 5th, 1843, another, 
 in plumage more nearly matured than either of the above, 
 the head and neck being much lighter in colour, and the 
 two middle tail-feathers more elongated. Thus far my own 
 notes. Mr. Dennis informed me that he had killed one on 
 a flooded meadow near Seaford, on October 8th, 1857. 
 
 It is the smallest Skua which breeds in the British Islands, 
 the nest being constructed of moss, short grass, and heather, 
 and, like the other Skuas, it defends its eggs with great 
 boldness, and like them, wages a perpetual war with the 
 smaller Gulls. Mr. Booth found it breeding on the moors 
 of Caithness, as it also does in the Outer Hebrides. Hewit- 
 son says that the cry of this species at its nest more nearly 
 resembles that of a cat than of a bird. 
 
 I have a specimen which was caught on a hook off the 
 Chain Pier at Brighton, in November 1844. Mr. Thorncroft, 
 of that town, records, in the 'Zoologist' (p. 3054), that he 
 killed a Richardson's Skua about two miles from Brighton, 
 on January 34th, 1850; and Mr. Jeffery saw a bird of this 
 species iu the flesh, at Chichester, on November 5th, 1873, 
 
 * It -was from a specimen in this plumage that the well-known Arctic 
 Gull, or Skua, was redescribed as a distinct species under the name of 
 Richardson's Skua. 
 
280 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 " with the hair-like yellow streaks appearing on the sides of 
 the neck, and one of the central tail-feathers extending 
 about three inches beyond the rest ; the other was missing." 
 (See ' Zoologist/ p. 3833, s. s.) 
 
 LONG-TAILED or BUFFON'S SKUA. 
 
 Stercorarius parasiticus. 
 
 This is the rarest of the Skuas found on our coast. I have 
 one which was shot on a flooded meadow in the Adur Level, 
 near Henfield, in October 1863. It was swimming about 
 alone, and was very tame. This example is in full adult 
 plumage. Mr. Jeffery mentions that in the beginning of 
 October he saw a BufEon's Skua which was killed at Don- 
 nington while flying over some fields ; it was in the mottled 
 plumage, the central tail-feathers projecting about an inch. 
 This was in December 1873. He also says that one was 
 obtained in the Manhood, a part of Chichester, in October 
 1879. This Skua feeds on fish, Crustacea, insects, lemmings, 
 and small birds, and on the berries of several plants found 
 on the mountains. 
 
 The nest is a mere depression in the ground, with a very 
 slight lining of grass. Mr. Booth says that it probably 
 passes to its breeding-places in April, and that in 1875 he 
 was frequently out in the Channel from six to twelve miles 
 off the Sussex coast, and on several occasions, between the 
 11th and 33rd of that month, fell in with single birds as well 
 as small parties. A few obtained as specimens were in fuU 
 breeding-plumage, and others in plumage otherwise the 
 same, but without the long tail-feathers, all being mature, 
 
FULMAR PETREL. 281 
 
 FULMAK PETREL. 
 
 Pulmaris glacialis. 
 
 The appearances of the Fulmar are exceedingly rare on our 
 coast. I have in my own collection a specimen which was 
 found dead on the beach, near Brighton, on Oct. 7, 1852 ; 
 and Mr. Dennis told me that he obtained another, which 
 was washed up alive on the shore under Seaford Head, 
 December 21, 1858, and was roughly stuffed by a bricklayer. 
 This had been wounded by shot, one of its legs having been 
 shattered, but it was healed when taken. It was restuflfed by 
 Mr. Pratt. The Fulmar keeps for the most part at a con- 
 siderable distance from the land. 
 
 In the 'Zoologist' (p. 598), another specimen is recorded 
 by me, which was found dead on the beach at Brighton, near 
 Black Rock, January 30, 1858. It was quite fresh, and had 
 evidently been recently shot. 
 
 In the 'Zoologist' for 1887 (p. 28), Mr. F. V. Theobald 
 records a specimen picked up in an exhausted state near Rye 
 a year before, and shown to him by a bird-stufifer at St. 
 Leonards. Mr. Parkin (p. n.) has the following : — " Fulmar 
 Petrel picked up dead on the beach between Winchelsea and 
 Fairlight. Brought to Mr. Sorell, of Hastings, for preser- 
 vation. The bird was in a very emaciated condition, and 
 seemed as if it had been starved.." All the specimens men- 
 tioned were obtained after heavy gales. 
 
 In St. Kilda the Fulmar breeds in countless numbers, 
 selecting for the site of its nest places where the cliff, al- 
 though very precipitous, is covered with grass, sorrel, and 
 other plants, and in some parts of these cliffs the ground is 
 almost white with sitting Fulmars. The bird often makes a 
 hole sufficient to half conceal it. The nests are very slight, and 
 
282 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 are often dispensed with, altogether. More generally a little 
 dry grass is the only material used. This bird when handled 
 emits a quantity of oil, and the whole bird is impregnated 
 with a scent which has been compared to exaggerated musk, 
 so strong that it still retains it even though it may have been 
 stuffed for years. It is a very voracious feeder, robbing the 
 herring nets, and seizing on masses of blubber even when 
 the men are engaged in flensing a whale. 
 
 SOOTY SHEAEWATEE. 
 
 Puffinus grisem. 
 
 The first example obtained in Sussex was, I believe, one 
 brought to Mr. Dennis, respecting which he* tells me, in a 
 letter dated July 4th, 1850, that it was picked up dead after 
 a gale, under the cliff at Seaford, a few days previously. Of 
 its habits little appears to be known. It is said to burrow in 
 peaty ground for three or four feet horizontally, and then 
 turning slightly to the right or left, to construct a rude 
 nest of twigs and leaves, in which it deposits a single egg. 
 In New Zealand, where it is said to breed, the Maories 
 esteem the young birds as a delicacy, and hold them over 
 their mouths to swallow the oily matter which they disgorge. 
 The old birds roost on shore, and are very noisy during the 
 night. The food of this Shearwater is of the same nature as 
 that of its congeners. (See Yarrell, B. B. vol. iv. p. 19.) 
 
 Mr. Parkin, of Hastings, sent me notice that a male of 
 this species was shot off that town on the 3rd of September 
 1890. This example was taken to Mr. Bristow, the well- 
 known naturalist of St. Leonards-on-Sea, by whom it has 
 been beautifully motmted, and it is now in my collection. I 
 
SOOTY SHEARWATER.— MANX SHEARWATER. 283 
 
 have lately met with a lady who had spent a summer in 
 Madeira, and informed me that a bird, which she thought 
 from my specimens was the Sooty Shearwater, was an occa- 
 sional visitor to that island, flying about at night uttering 
 most fearful screams, which were considered by the natives 
 as an omen of evil, especially i£ heard by a sick person. The 
 lady also said that she had been told that the bird used its 
 hooked bill in the manner of a Parrot while climbing about 
 the rocks, and that it bred in the Desertas. 
 
 MANX SHEARWATEE. 
 
 Puffinus anglorum. 
 
 This species occurs on our coast occasionally, but cannot be 
 called common. In February 1854 I heard from Mr. Den- 
 nis that four adult Manx Shearwaters were seen in Seaford 
 Bay. Mr. Knox merely states that it is an unusual and acci- 
 dental visitor to this part of the English Channel. It breeds 
 in the Scilly Isles, on the Calf of Man, many of the Hebrides, 
 and the Orkneys, and at St. Kilda it is one of the commonest 
 birds. Its food is principally composed of small cuttlefish, 
 moUusks, and scraps of ofEal found floating in the sea. It 
 also eats great quantities of sorrel, and the remains of sea- 
 weed have been found in its interior. It burrows in the 
 ground like the Puffin, the holes being sometimes very 
 long, and often under large masses of rock ; the nests are 
 merely little bunches of dried grass. Its note may be expressed 
 as " Kitty-coo-roo," and at night it is very garrulous. 
 
 Mr. Parkin, in his p. n., states that a fine specimen was 
 obtained at Bexhill, August 18th, 1883. Mr. Booth writes 
 that the flight of this bird when viewed for the first time is 
 sure to attract attention, as it glides with an undulating 
 
284 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 motion over the water, and may be readily recognized at 
 almost any distance. In the ' Zoologist ' (p. 6606) we find 
 the following from Mr. John "Wilson : — " Manx Shearwater, 
 1847," in a list of rare birds near Worthing, with no remark. 
 And on p. 9103, for 1864, Mr. Button writes of this bird 
 that one was shot off Beachy Head about two years since, 
 which came into his possession. In the ' Zoologist ' (p. 391 
 of the volume for 1890), Mr. T. R. Harden, of Hastings, states 
 " that on going into the garden of a house at Hurst Green, 
 in August 1883, he saw a strange bird coming towards him 
 in apparently a very exhausted state, which alighted in the 
 garden, and was caught by his dog, when he found it to be a 
 Manx Shearwater. A strong south-western gale was blowing 
 at the time, and Hastings, the nearest sea-point, is fourteen 
 miles distant. He has it still, preserved." 
 
 FORK-TAILED or LEACH'S PETREL. 
 
 Cymochorea leucorrhoa. 
 
 This species is much less common than the Storm Petrel, 
 most of the specimens met with having been driven ashore, 
 or even far inland, by heavy storms. I have noted that on 
 November 15th, 1840, two were picked up dead on the beach 
 at Brighton ; one of them had lost a foot, but the stump was 
 perfectly healed and covered by two scutes ; and on December 
 3nd in the same year, one was picked up dead and much de- 
 composed, near Lancing, about a mile from the shore, having 
 no doubt been driven in by the same gale. On November 
 33rdj 1841, a specimen was shot from the beach between 
 Shoreham and Hove, and another from a boat off Brighton. 
 This latter was attracted by liver which had been thrown out 
 
FORK-TAILED OR LEACH'S PETREL. 285 
 
 for the Gulls. On November Srd, 1859, an example in very- 
 perfect plumage, but minus a foot, lost apparently long ago, 
 was picked up dead on Patches Farm, Cowfold ; this also was 
 after a furious gale, and at least ten miles from the sea. 
 
 Mr. Knox mentions its occurrence in many places along 
 the coast, and specially notices one picked up at Lodsworth, 
 almost fifteen miles inland. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) mentions 
 one found dead at Sidlesham, November 25th, 1865, and 
 two others, on the 28th of the same month, at the same 
 place ; also one shot at Bosham on December 5th, 1866, 
 which was found to contain pieces of sea- weed, and parts of 
 the stems and blossoms of sainfoin, and two more obtained 
 in November and December 1881, one at Dell Quay, the 
 other at Birdham. Mr. Dennis informed me that a Fork- 
 tailed Petrel was found alive among the furze at Denton Top, 
 near Lewes, December 15th, 1856. 
 
 In the 'Zoologist' (p. 2392) one was recorded by me 
 which was picked up alive, but ia an exhausted state, at Eot- 
 tingdean, on December 14th, 1849, and Mr. Ellman records 
 another example which was found dead on the shore at 
 Brighton, on November 8th, 1850 (p. 2970). 
 
 This Petrel breeds on St. Kilda, and on North Rona, 
 where Mr. Swinburne found it abundant, nesting among 
 some old ruins, one large main burrow serving for several 
 pairs of these birds, which made smaller burrows branching 
 off from it at right angles. The note is said to resemble the 
 syllables, " pewrit-pewrit." It feeds, like the other, on any 
 greasy substances it can obtain. 
 
 In Messrs. Harvie-Brown and Buckley's 'Fauna of the 
 Outer Hebrides,' we find, at p. 154, that Sir W. E. Milner 
 discovered a colony of these birds on the Dune of St. Kilda 
 in 1848, He considered that they bred three weeks earlier 
 than the Storm Petrel. And since his visit there this 
 species has been found in great abundance on Borreay, one of 
 
286 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 the St. 'Kilda group ; also in Mingula and Barray a few pairs 
 in holes and cracks in the peat, and on several other islands 
 of the west of Scotland. 
 
 STOEM PETREL. 
 
 Procellaria pelagica. 
 
 This Petrel is found in large numbers in the Channel^ gener- 
 ally far out at sea. In my own notes I find that one was 
 picked up in the churchyard of Hailsham^ having heen blown 
 against the spire during the gale of February 26, 1848. Four 
 specimens of this species were shot about half a mile off 
 Brighton, on November 5th, 1845, which were preserved by 
 Mr. Pratt. In the Isle of Burhou, off Aldemeyi, about the 
 year 1836, I found this bird in deserted rabbit-burrows, and 
 took the eggs. I did not see the nests. In each case the 
 bird allowed me to take it out, and voided a quantity of oil 
 and some green substance. I did not see any of the birds on 
 the wing. It is said to breed on the Scilly Isles, and on 
 many of those of Scotland, as far north as the Orkneys and 
 Shetlands. 
 
 Mr. Booth says that they are extremely numerous in the 
 spring, and may be occasionally met with in the autumn; 
 adding that in the former season, when they are gathering in 
 the Channel, and on the whole of our coast line, before they 
 make a move to their northern breeding-stations, they are 
 to be found almost every day that an attempt is made to 
 ascertain their whereabouts. Mr. Booth suggests that the 
 name '' Mother Carey^s Chicken" is a corruption of " Madre 
 cara," addressed by pious seamen to the Virgin, when 
 beseeching her to avert a storm. 
 
STORM PETREL.— WILSON'S PETREL. 287 
 
 " Mr. Hewitson, in the 1st edit, of his ' Illustrations of the 
 Eggs of British Birds' (vol. ii. p. 46) j says that he found 
 the Storm Petrels breeding in Foula, in holes in the cliff, 
 at a great height above the sea^ but in Oxna they were 
 breeding on the earth, under stones on the beach, at a depth 
 of three or four feet or more. When walking, he could hear 
 them chattering under his feet, singing in a sort of warbling 
 note a good deal like that of the Swallow when hovering over 
 a chimney, but somewhat harsher. The nests seem to have 
 been made with little care, of small bits of stalks of plants. 
 The birds remain in their holes during the day, but at night 
 surround the fishermen in great numbers as soon as they throw 
 out portions of fish. Mr. Graham, {' The Birds of lona and 
 Muiy pp. 47, 48), remarks that " Both the young and the 
 old ones, when confined in a basket or bag, escape at the 
 smallest aperture, climbing up the sides like mice, in doing 
 which they use their hooked bill to pull themselves up with ; 
 it seems to be of more service to them than their claws.^^ 
 
 Again, at p. 96 he observes respecting some young birds of 
 this species : — " These little birds seemed to have an irresistible 
 instinct which led them to attempt to surmount every ob- 
 stacle which fell in their way. When walking on the table 
 every book and desk must be climbed by means of the hooked 
 bin, with the assistance of claws and pinions. When upon 
 the floor, I have noticed them striving for a considerable 
 time to ascend the wall of the room." 
 
 WILSON'S PETREL. 
 
 Oceanites oceanica. 
 
 The only occurrence of this Petrel on the coast of Sussex is 
 that mentioned by Mr. Bond (' Zoologist,' p. 148) as having 
 
288 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 been obtained on the Sussex coast^ and lately come into his 
 possession. It belongs to the Atlantic Ocean. Of its breeding 
 habits little is known. Mr. Godman, in his 'Natural 
 History of the Azores/ says (p. 40) : — " On returning from 
 Flores to Fayalj we were becalmed for some hours ; and as there 
 were a good many Petrels flying about, I took the boat be- 
 longing to the schooner and shot some. They were all of 
 this [Wilson's] species, nor did I see any other in the archi- 
 pelago. In flying they carry their legs stretched straight out 
 behind them, and their feet protruded about an inch beyond 
 the tail, producing the effect of two long tail-feathers. I 
 know nothing about this species breeding in the archipelago, 
 though I suspect it does, as it remains throughout the year.'' 
 
 RAZOE-BILL. 
 
 Alca torda. 
 
 The Eazor-bill, known also as the Parrot-billed Willock 
 and the Tinkershere, is found around our coast in every 
 season of the year, but very few appear to breed on the 
 Sussex cliffs at the present time, though they are often met 
 with in the Channel. It breeds in vast numbers on Flam- 
 borough Head, preferring the highest ledges in the most lofty 
 parts of the cliff; it makes no nest, but places its single egg 
 on the bare rock. In June 1881, I was told by the boatmen 
 there that they frequently laid their eggs in a deep cleft of 
 the chalk, where they are very difficult to get at. On the 
 cliffs and on the sea were many hundreds of these birds, and 
 they were so tame that they suffered themselves to be nearly 
 touched with an oar, when they merely dived, and generally 
 came to the surface on the other side of the boat. It is a 
 
RAZOR-BILL.— GUILLEMOT. 289 
 
 very silent bird, the only note I heard being an occasional 
 dull croak. In diving it uses its wings as if flying, pursuing 
 the fish under water, as well as taking them on the surface. 
 They are eaten by the fishermen, who bake them, after they 
 have been skinned and laid in fresh water. 
 
 Mr. Booth states that he has frequently remarked that 
 during winter, " previous to the setting in of stormy weather 
 in the Channel, Eazor-bills were exceedingly restless, 
 immense flocks of these and other Divers being seen on 
 wing making their way either east or west for several hours. 
 No general movement to any distance appeared to be taken ; 
 within a day or two the stream of birds would probably be 
 seen taking an opposite course. At times, when the fry of fish 
 are plentiful. ... I have seen these birds perfectly crammed 
 with food, snapping up the glittering morsels by merely 
 dipping their heads below the surface without diving. . . . 
 I am not acquainted with any breeding-stations of this 
 species . . . within many miles of the Sussex coast. . . . 
 That such still exist, however, is evident, as a fisherman who 
 was working his shrimp-net over the sands near Shoreham, on 
 9th of August 1883, captured in the shallow water a young 
 one that had strayed some distance from the old bird.^' 
 He further says that the fisherman took the young one 
 home, but his wife killed it, as it constantly cried for food. 
 Mr. Button says that the Eazor-bill breeds on the cliflfs 
 about Eastbourne (' Zoologist,' p. 9101 ). 
 
 GUILLEMOT. 
 
 Una troile. 
 
 Generally known as the Willock, formerly bred abundantly 
 on Beachy Head ; but owing to incessant persecution, there 
 
290 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 are not now more than two or three pairs. Mr. Booth 
 states that on April 33rd, 1874, "thousands of this species 
 were observed in the Channel, some nine or ten miles out at 
 sea, off Brighton. Several large flocks flew east during the 
 day, but the majority were floating motionless on the glassy 
 surface of the water, unruffled by a breath of air. These 
 birds were, with few exceptions, in full summer plumage, 
 only a single specimen in the perfect winter dress being 
 noticed." The Guillemot flies with great speed, but rises 
 with difficulty at all times, flapping along the water for some 
 time before getting well on the wing, and if fully fed, it will 
 not rise, but merely dives, and when mounting to the top 
 of the cliff, makes several circles before it can attain the 
 necessary height. The egg is placed on the bare rock, 
 generally on the middle ledges of the cliffs, without any nest. 
 Long rows of Gruillemots may be observed in su^h places as 
 Plamborough Head sitting close together, most of them 
 with their white breasts toward the sea. Their food and 
 habits are similar to those of the Razor-bill. 
 
 On November 28th, 1850, I saw, at Mr. Swaysland's, an 
 immature specimen of the variety known as the Ringed 
 Guillemot, which was formerly considered a distinct species. 
 It had been shot off the Chain Pier at Brighton on Oct. 33nd. 
 
 Mr. Dennis informs me that on July 4th, 1850, as he was 
 walking near Seaford, his attention was called by a child to 
 a " duck " which was sitting on some wreck driving about in 
 Seaford Bay. He ran down to the edge of the water, and 
 fired at the bird, which was hard hit and unable to fly, but 
 every time he approached it contrived to elude him. By 
 hiding behind a groyne he got another shot with a cartridge 
 and knocked the bird under water; on rising it was feet 
 uppermost. His spaniel dashed in for it, but it did battle 
 with its bill and fairly drove the dog off. He then fired 
 again, and the dog fetched it out. It proved to be a Ringed 
 
GUILLEMOT.- BLACK GUILLEMOT. 291 
 
 Guillemot, and was preserved by Mr. Swaysland. Mr. Dennis 
 sent another specimen to the same bird-stuffer on Jan. 8th, 
 1853, which had been picked up dead under the cliff at 
 Seaford. 
 
 Mr. Booth remarks that in the Channel he has seen 
 these birds very plentiful on several occasions, and that on 
 April 23rd, 1884, several were observed eight or nine miles 
 off Brighton, in perfect winter dress ; the white ring and 
 bridle were still conspicuous, a narrow line of dull white 
 enclosing the bridle. A bird exhibiting this state of 
 plumage was shot off Rottingdean, in December 1878. 
 Mr. Wilson states ('Zoologist,' p. 6606) that a specimen 
 was taken in a field near Worthing, in August 1854. At 
 p. 9123, Mr. Dutton records a very beautiful specimen shot 
 off Eastbourne, April. 19th, 1864. 
 
 BLACK GUILLEMOT. 
 
 Uria grylle. 
 
 This Guillemot is only an occasional straggler to the Sussex 
 coast. It breeds in the rocky cliffs of the coast of Scotland, 
 more especially on the eastern side, and lives almost entirely 
 on the open sea, nothing but stress of weather ever bringing 
 it inland except in the breeding-season. The general habits 
 of this species are much the same as those of the last 
 described ; two points of difference are, however, remarkable, 
 that whereas the Common Guillemot never lays more than 
 one egg, the present bird always lays two, and instead of 
 placing them on the higher ledges of the cliffs, it always 
 chooses a locality in crevices, at a low elevation, under stones 
 near the water, or even on the sea-shore. 
 
 I am informed by Mr. Bristow, the well-known naturalist 
 
 u2 
 
292 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 of St. Leonards-on-Sea, that on October ISth^ 1883, a 
 female immature Black Guillemot was shot off that town by 
 Mr. Maggs. In 'The Birds of lona and Mull/ p. 105, 
 Mr. Graham states that during incubation these birds sit 
 erect on their nests, gasping out a plaintive wheezing noise 
 something like the complainings of a set of very young 
 kittens. This seems to be their only cry, for, except at this 
 time of year, they are entirely mute. 
 
 LITTLE AUK. 
 
 Mergulus alle. 
 
 The Little Auk is entirely arctic in its breeding-quarters, 
 and only an occasional visitor to out coasts. The only note 
 I have of it is the following. On November 5th, 1841, I 
 noticed a Little Auk sitting on a smaU rock in a little pool, 
 close to Portobello, near Brighton. It took to the water and 
 swam about for a short time, returning again to its station. 
 Seeing a shrimper a short distance off, I beckoned to him, 
 and when he disturbed it, it flew to a short distance ; but 
 after chasing it for nearly a mile, he at last caught it. It 
 was rather curious that it never attempted to get out to sea. 
 It is now in my collection. 
 
 On November 23rd, 1850, I saw one at Mr. Swaysland's 
 which had just been caught by some fisherwomen at 
 Brighton, and another which had been taken about the 
 same time. In the first week of February 1864, a Little 
 Auk was caught alive in Lansdowne-place, Brighton, having 
 been seen to fly against a house during a thick fog. It 
 appeared uninjured and was in good condition ; the weather 
 was quite calm at the time. I have another, found dead at 
 Hurst-Pierpoint, but have lost the date. Mr. .Teffery (p. n.) 
 
LITTLE AUK.— PUFFIN. 
 
 293 
 
 mentions two taken near Chichester, in the winter of 1858- 
 59, and another in December 1866. In the 'Zoologist' 
 (p. 2070) Mr. EUman mentions one obtained near Crawley, 
 in November 1850. 
 
 The Little Ank feeds entirely on small Crustacea, and in 
 the breeding-season the mouth is often crowded with them 
 for feeding their young, the form of the bill not being 
 adapted for carrying small fish. 
 
 PUFFIN. 
 
 Fratercula arctica. 
 
 The PuflSn, Coulterneb, or Sea Parrot, having no breeding- 
 place on our coast, is not very frequently met with, and of 
 those which have occurred the greater part have been 
 washed up dead on the beach, after a heavy storm. A few 
 are, however, occasionally seen far out in the Channel, as 
 might be expected, having probably strayed from the Isle of 
 Wight, where they have a breeding-station. The PuflSn 
 often appropriates the burrow of a rabbit, in which it lays 
 its single egg ; but more often these birds dig their holes for 
 themselves, and sometimes to a very considerable distance. 
 For this purpose they generally select a crumbling soil on a 
 grassy slope near or upon the top of a cliff. The bite of 
 the Pufl&n is said not to be so serious as from the form of 
 the bill might be expected; but I cannot agree in this 
 opinion, as I once brought one of these birds out of its hole, 
 fixed on the top of my finger, which it had bitten to the 
 bone, and I had to kill it before it would let go. Though it 
 was sixty years ago, I still bear the marks. 
 
 They associate in large numbers at the breeding-places, 
 at which they arrive and whence they depart with most 
 
294 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 singular regularity, almost always to a day, according to the 
 custom of the locality. In many places they are exported 
 in immense numbers, packed in barrels, to Roman Catholic 
 countries, for use on maigre days. An unusual number of 
 these birds were, as I heard from Mr. Dennis, washed ashore 
 near Seaford, by a great gale in January 1853. One, in 
 full plumage, was brought to him in good order, and several 
 others were found in various stages of decomposition. The 
 PufiBn feeds on fish and moUusks, and is an excellent diver. 
 Mr. Jeffery, writing in the 'Zoologist' (p. 168, s. s.), states 
 that one was shot on an arm of Chichester Harbour on 
 February 7th, 1865 ; an immature specimen. It is rarely 
 met with in our harbours. 
 
 GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. 
 
 Colymhus glacialis. 
 
 This splendid Diver, the largest of the genus which visits our 
 coast, is often found in considerable numbers, making its 
 first appearance in April, though adult birds may be met with 
 in the Channel till quite the end of May, and I have seen 
 many there during these months in various stages of 
 plumage. The Great Northern Diver is so powerful a 
 swimmer and so expert in diving that it is exceedingly 
 difScult to get within shot of it, and then, unless it happen 
 to be struck on the head or neck, which from these parts 
 being the first to disappear is not probable, you cannot 
 make sure of it. When it dives, it rarely appears again 
 within at least a quarter of a mile, and often sinks so low in 
 the water as to be very hard to discover. 
 
 When caught it is very tenacious of life, and indulges in 
 
GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. 295 
 
 most awful screams and vigorously attacks all around it. 
 It feeds entirely on fish, and is frequently taken in the her- 
 ring nets. I have had two fine adult specimens^ male and 
 female, brought to me, which had been caught in this man- 
 ner oflp Brighton. Mr. Booth remarks that on April 31st, 
 1874, he noticed half a dozen fine mature birds, together with 
 three or four in a half-and-half state of plumage, at sea, off 
 Brighton, and a few days later some Worthing fishermen re- 
 ported a party of thirteen off Goring, half of which were in 
 full plumage. Mr. Jeffery {' Zoologist,' p. 3035-6) says that 
 a specimen of this bird was picked up on the top of a high 
 ridge of the chalk down, in the parish of Beddingham, on 
 December 20th, and that it is in the possession of Mr. P. 
 EUman, of that place, by whom it was found. He also records 
 (on p. 9449) a second, an adult female, killed on December 
 6th, 1864, and says that another accompanied it, and was 
 afterwards shot. In the first specimen were found two flat- 
 fish, and in the second a quantity of fish-bones ; he adds 
 that in the immature state the species is not unfrequently 
 met with during the winter months. Unless accidentally 
 driven by tempest, or in the breeding-season, this species 
 is never seen inland ; it is, ia fact, entirely built for swimming, 
 and owing to the legs being placed so far behind, it cannot 
 stand upright on them. Except to incubate its eggs, it never 
 comes on shore, and, in fact, it cannot walk without resting 
 its breast on the ground. The nest is generally on an island 
 in a lake, always on the edge of the water, and much exposed. 
 It is slightly and clumsily made of decayed grass and water- 
 plants, a road being ploughed by the bird from the nest to 
 the water. 
 
296 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 BLACK-THEOATED DIVER. 
 
 Colymbus arcticus. 
 
 This may be considered the rarest of the three Divers, but is 
 occasionally met with in the Channel, mostly in the imma- 
 ture ■ dress, or while undergoing the change into that of the 
 adult. Its habits do not appear to differ from those of the 
 Great Northern Diver. I have a note that one of this 
 species, in the mature plumage, was shot on the river Adur, 
 close to Beeding chalk -pit, on March 6th, 1840; also that an 
 immature example was shot near Crawley, November 28th, 
 1850, some fourteen miles from the sea.* 
 
 Mr. Knox mentions that he has a remarkably fine adult 
 bird ia his collection, which was shot in Chichest^ Harbour in 
 the winter of 1845 ; that he had seen one at the Mechanics' 
 Institute at Hastings, which had been kiUed near that town ; 
 and that a third, in the Chichester Museum, was sent from 
 Selsey. 
 
 Mr. Jeffery iu his p. n. alludes to one at Selsey in Janu- 
 ary 1859, one at Sidlesham in mixed adult and immature 
 plumage j and says that he saw several at Chichester in 
 November 1865, and one in full summer plumage in April 
 1866. He records, in 1873, one at Bosham; in January 
 1875, several in Chichester Harbour ; and one at Bosham iu 
 1877. Mr. EUman records one in winter plumage, obtained 
 at Pevensey, in December 1850. 
 
 It breeds in Scotland on the mainland in preference to the 
 little Loch islands, and not so close to the water as the 
 preceding species. 
 
 * I have lately seen a specimen in winter plumage which was shot 
 some years ago on the lake at Knepp. 
 
RED-THROATED DIVER. 297 
 
 RED-THROATED DIVER. 
 
 Colymhus septentrionalis. 
 
 This is the most abundant o£ all the Diversj following the 
 shoals of spratSj whence it has obtained the name of Sprat- 
 loon, devouring these fish in great numbers, as well as 
 shrimps. Many hundreds of these birds may daily be seen 
 passing up and down Channelj shifting about in small 
 parties, particularly in stormy weather. This Direr has a 
 very powerful flight, often ascending to a great height in 
 the air, and occasionally uttering its harsh guttural scream, 
 especially before rain or wind. In rough weather it fre- 
 quently comes for shelter to our harbours, and a few non- 
 breeding birds may be found throughout the year. This 
 species prefers to nest by small lochs and tarns, sometimes 
 at a considerable altitude. 
 
 In Caithness and Sutherland it breeds out on the moors, 
 making a very little nest, a few yards from the water. The 
 Divers seem to be wholly constructed for this element, their 
 mode of progression on land being by pushing themselves 
 alon" on their breast. 
 
 PODICIPEDIDiS. 
 
 GREAT CRESTED GREBE. 
 Podicejps cristatus. 
 
 This Grebe is most commonly found with us in the winter, 
 but a few seem to be resident, frequenting large ponds where 
 there are plenty of reeds. Its food consists for the most 
 
298 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 part of eels, small roachj tadpoles, and frogs. It is a great 
 diver and very seldom seen on land, often swimming with 
 only the head and neck above water. I am not aware that 
 it breeds in this county. The bird is rarely to be seen on the 
 nest, which is composed of a considerable mass of vegetable 
 matter, half decayed and always very wet and muddy, and so 
 very low in the water that the eggs, which it always covers 
 on leaving, are generally considerably stained. It breeds 
 on several of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads. In severe 
 weather this bird betakes itself to the sea. All the Grebes 
 have a curious habit of swallowing their own feathers, a mass 
 of which is very generally to be found in their interior. 
 
 I have a female, taken in the winter plumage, which was 
 shot on a flood in the Level of the Adur, near Henfield, on 
 December 20tb, 1839; and another, in similar dress, was 
 obtained at the same place on the 25th. In the winter, 
 should the sea be very rough, they enter the harbours. 
 
 Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) mentions a male sent him from 
 Sidlesham, the stomach of which was crammed with its own 
 feathers, the remains of fish, &c.; and others which had been 
 killed near Chichester contained much the same. He 
 mentions also several killed in the neighbourhood. The 
 ordinary note of alarm may be expressed by the syllables 
 keck, keck, but in the breeding-season its note is a guttural 
 croak. This Grebe is much prized by the plumassiers. 
 
 RED-NECKED GREBE. 
 
 Podiceps griseigena. 
 
 This species is only a winter visitant, and is much rarer 
 than the preceding, and much more marine in its habits. It 
 has never been found nesting in this country, and leaves us 
 
RKD-NECKED GREBE. 299 
 
 before the breeding-season, though it occasionally remains 
 till it has assumed the plumage of that period before be- 
 taking itself to Holland, Norway, and Sweden, its nearest 
 breeding-places. 
 
 In my own notes I find that I received a specimen of this 
 Grebe, which had been shot on Warnham Millpond in 
 January 1849, in winter plumage. In November 1847, two 
 specimens were shot off Shoreham, and in the early part of 
 January 1850, a similar example was killed on K.nepp Pond, 
 in the parish of Shipley, and is now in the possession of a 
 member of the Burrell family. Mr. Jeffery remarks (in 
 p. n.) that a female was obtained on December 20th, 1850, 
 in Chichester Harbour; a male near Selsey, November 1863, 
 containing nothing but feathers ; a third in August 1870, a 
 female in full plumage, and with the ovary well developed, 
 shot at Bosham ; and a fourth, sex not noted, containing a 
 mass of feathers and half-digested shrimps, on January 1st, 
 1870, 
 
 Mr. Dennis informs me that one of these Grebes was shot 
 at Newhaven in the winter of 1844-5, and another at Hope 
 Gap, Cuckmere, on January 27th, 1857. 
 
 Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 126) says that the late 
 Mr. Dann, writing respecting the breeding of this species 
 on the Gulf of Bothnia, states that they are by no means 
 shy, and keep up a constant croaking, and that they do not 
 use their wings while under water. The nest is described 
 as placed among aquatic herbage and reeds, being built of 
 similar decayed material, and the call-note as a loud, 
 clear keck, keck. The birds feed on small fish, Crustacea, and 
 water-insects ; and in one, examined by Montagu, the 
 stomach was distended by its own feathers and small seeds. 
 In the ' Zoologist' for 1865, Mr. Jeffery records an example 
 shot inPagham Harbour, in February of that year (p. 9582). 
 
300 TPIE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 SCLAVONIAN GREBE. 
 
 Podiceps auritus. 
 
 This bird is found on the sea, all along the coast, in spring 
 and autumn, and, in severe weather, in the estuaries, and the 
 ditches in the marsh-lands. It is particularly fond of shallow 
 water, and chiefly frequents those parts of the coast where 
 there is an abundance of mussels, among which it seeks for 
 small fish, Crustacea, &c. It is a tame bird when undisturbed, 
 but when much molested it is diflScult to get a shot at. It 
 has not been found breeding in Britain, but during the nest- 
 ing-season frequents many parts of the north of Europe. 
 The late Mr. Proctor, of the Durham University Museum, 
 found it breeding on fresh water in Iceland, forming a large 
 nest among the reeds. He states also that «on shooting 
 one of these birds he saw two young ones which had been 
 concealed beneath its wings. I have a note of an immature 
 specimen which was shot on a pond near Woodman- 
 cote, on February 5th, 1839. In February 1845, I found 
 one in a brook at Lancing, which on my first approach 
 dived and remained submerged for a long time, but on 
 coming up to the surface it took wing, and I obtained it ; it 
 was in full winter plumage. In the 'Zoologist' (p. 9540), 
 it is recorded by Mr. J. H. Gurney, that a Sclavonian 
 Grebe was found alive, apparently asleep, in a walled garden 
 by a labourer at Worthing, who caught it and took it to 
 Mr. Wells, naturalist, March 7, 1865 ; and at p. 9582 [pp. 
 cit.) Mr. Jefi'ery mentions one shot in Pagham Harbour 
 in February, and in p. n. mentions one killed at the head 
 of Chichester Harbour, on January 31st 1866. It is stated 
 in Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 135), that Mr. Benzon found the 
 nests in Denmark, and that they were not among rushes, 
 but were on tussocks on the edges of the lakes. 
 
EARED GREBE. 301 
 
 EARED GREBE. 
 
 Podicefs nigricollis. 
 
 This is the rarest of the familyj making its appearance, at 
 uncertain times, oflf our coast, and on the pools and rivers, 
 as well as in the ditches in the levels. Nearly all the speci- 
 mens being met with in the winter, it is therefore rarely 
 found in the breeding-plumage, and never nests in this 
 country, yet the only one I ever shot myself was in that 
 plumage. I obtained it on the Salts Farm, near Lancing, in 
 April 1854, 
 
 Mr. Booth records one, in his ' Rough Notes,^ which had 
 been caught by a dog in Pevensey Level, and it being put in 
 a tub of water, he had a good opportunity of examining it. 
 He further tells us that while shooting between Shoreham 
 and Worthing, on December 10th, 1879, he came at half-ebb 
 tide on several of these birds among the old groynes and break- 
 waters, which form an attractive resort for small fish, shrimps, 
 . prawns, and other marine animals which here find shelter 
 among half-decayed piles and planks. '' During the after- 
 noon," says Mr. Booth, " I plainly identified every species of 
 our British Grebes, obtaining specimens in full winter plumage 
 of the Great Crested, the Red-necked, and Eared, as well as 
 passing and closely examining several Sclavonian in the shoal 
 water near the sands," also seeing a pair of Little Grebes ; 
 he further adds that one or two other specimens of the Eared 
 Grebe were obtained by local gunners along the Sussex coast 
 during the last few years, all in full winter plumage. Mr. 
 Dennis mentions, in a letter to me, without date, that he had 
 a beautiful specimen, killed with a stone by a boy at Cuck- 
 mere. 
 
802 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 LITTLE GREBE. 
 
 Fodiceps fluviatilis. 
 
 The provincial name of the Little Grebe is Dabchick, though 
 it is occasionally called the Mole-Diver, and it is the most 
 abundant of its genus. Resident throughout the year, it is 
 to be found on most of the large pieces of water, preferring 
 those with plenty of reeds, as well as in the ditches of the 
 marsh-lands; and, when the fresh water is frozen, often 
 betaking itself to the brackish pools on the coast, or, not 
 seldom, to the sea. I£ approached cautiously, it may be 
 frequently seen swimming about, apparently picking up some 
 kind of food from the surface and snapping at insects on the 
 wing J but on the slightest disturbance'it dives, ^nd probably 
 disappears among the reeds. It builds a semi-floating nest, 
 which looks like a lump of decayed weeds, generally placed 
 at the edge of the water. If it has eggs, it always covers them 
 on leaving the nest. I learn from one of my brothers, who has 
 excellent opportunities of observing its habits, that he has seen 
 this done by throwing the mud of the nest backwards with its 
 feet as it dives off from it. The editor of Yarrell (vol. iv. 
 p. 140) states that Mr.Thurnall, writing to Mr. Bond, observes 
 that he had seen the bird do it with her beak. Perhaps in this 
 case she had more time at her disposal than she would have 
 had on any sudden alarm. The young do not always dive on 
 being disturbed, for I saw a friend whip in a little one, which 
 must have been two or three days old, with his fly-line, on 
 Hawkins' Pond, in St. Leonards Forest. I have it now, and a 
 beautiful little creature it is, being in colour like a very young 
 tabby kitten. It uttered a continual piping like a young 
 chicken, but weaker. After receiving it in a landing-net, I 
 carried it in a bag for about two hours, and every now and 
 
LITTLE GREBE. 303 
 
 then it uttered the same piping note ; but finding it was being 
 pressed by a trout in the same bag, I put it into a small 
 wooden match-box. On arriving at home, I was surprised 
 to find it alive, and on being put into a basin of water it 
 swam about, still uttering its little note. When I first 
 caught it, it could not stand, but carried its legs stretched 
 out behind; finding it was injured I was obliged to kill it, 
 which I did by pressure on the breast, and, though only 
 about 4^ inches in length, I was sorry to find it very tena- 
 cious of life. We afterwards, on the same pond, about ten 
 yards from the shore, found a nest containing six eggs, care- 
 fully covered with weeds. All were arranged in the nest with 
 the points upward, and difl'ered slightly in form, two being 
 larger at one end than at the other, the rest being pointed at 
 both, as is most usual. Another circumstance which I 
 thought remarkable was that some appeared to be much 
 further advanced in incubation than others. 
 
 I was once present at an amusing scene, a man being 
 brought before the magistrates on a charge of taking a 
 Partridge's egg. The witness, a game-keeper, had in his 
 hand a Chaffinch's nest, containing several small birds' eggs, 
 and a large white one. The chairman told him to hand up 
 the nest to him, and asked which was the Partridge's egg. 
 '' The big'un," replied the keeper with contemptuous assur- 
 ance, on which he was asked whether he could swear to a 
 Partridge's egg when he saw it, and he was very indignant. 
 The chairman, however, taking a pair of scissors from his 
 pocket, deliberately cut open the egg, and producing a young 
 Dabchick, set it upon the desk, observing: "There's your 
 Partridge for you," to the great amusement of the court and 
 the discomfiture of the keeper. The case was, of course, 
 dismissed, the chairman recommending the witness to 
 learn his business before again practising his profession. 
 The Little Grebe swims with considerable swiftness, and 
 
304 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 stands much more uprightly than its congeners. Its food 
 consists of small fish, aquatic and other insects, a considerable 
 quantity of vegetable matter, and, like the rest of the family, 
 it swallows a large quantity of its own feathers. Mr. JefEery 
 tells me that he had seen, at one house at Chichester, the 
 skins of the breasts of fourteen Little Grebes, cut up the 
 middle, and sewn together for trimmings. In the ' Zoologist ' 
 (p. 1482, s. 8.) Mr. J. W. Stephenson states that he had heard 
 from "Worthing, that on the 6th of November, 1868, an un- 
 usual number of this species were seen at, and in the 
 neighbourhood of. Lancing. They were said to be ''in every 
 ditch," and on the following day not one was to be seen. 
 
 STEGANOPODES. 
 
 PHALACROCORACIDiE. 
 
 COMMON COKMOEANT. 
 
 PhalacroGorax carlo. 
 
 This entirely marine species, sometimes called the " Isle of 
 Wight Parson," from the white marks on the throat some- 
 what resembling the bands of an ecclesiastic, is by no means 
 common in the eastern part of the county, and at the 
 present time it breeds only on Seaford Head; the colony 
 there being but small, our own birds are supplemented by 
 an occasional stranger from the Isle of Wight, the next 
 nearest breeding-place. The Cormorant lives entirely on 
 fish, especially on eels. It is a great diver, using its wings 
 under water, as I have had good opportunities of observing 
 at Staffa, and about the sea-caves on the coast of Mayo. It 
 
COMMON CORMORANT, 30S 
 
 generally in this country breeds on sea-cliffs ; but Mr. 
 Lubbock, in his 'Fauna o£ Norfolk' (p. 173-4), states 
 that formerly Cormorants nested on high trees round Pritton 
 decoy. In a note to p. 174, op. cit., he says that Cormo- 
 rants use the nests o£ the Heron. 
 
 I visited Horster Meer in Holland, in the summer of 1883, 
 where, in that immense marsh, we saw the remains of many 
 Cormorants' nests of the last year, on the level ground, but, 
 the marsh being drained, the birds have now abandoned the 
 locality. The nests, which were about one hundred and 
 fifty in number, built of sticks and twigs, were greatly decayed, 
 but still retained a distinct odour of guano. The spot was 
 slightly elevated above the marsh, and surrounded by coarse 
 herbage, especially a yellow woolly-leaved plant, I believe 
 Cineraria palustris, which was growing vigorously. The 
 Cormorant may occasionally be seen standing on a post or 
 pile, in the shallow water of the creeks. I saw a young 
 white-breasted specimen of this bird, on the sixth of Feb- 
 ruary 1841, which had just been shot, a short distance from 
 Shoreham Harbour, where it was considered a rare bird. 
 
 The place now most frequented by the Cormorant in the 
 west of Sussex appears to be the estuary north of Thoruey 
 Island, where, some twenty years since, an attempt was 
 made to enclose a large tract of mud land, which was for 
 some reason abandoned, but a part of the embankment still 
 remains, studded with piles, which, Mr. Jeffery informs me, 
 are a favourite resort of the Cormorant, and that from 
 twenty to thirty may sometimes be seen perched on their 
 tops. Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 350) mentions the small colony 
 established at Seaford ClifE, and that, in time of floods, the 
 birds occasionally visit the levels of the rivers. I have heard 
 of a Cormorant having, many years since, been observed on 
 the spire of Chichester Cathedral. Mr. Dennis tells me 
 that in the summer of 1844, he saw a Cormorant on a ledge 
 
306 The birds of Sussex. 
 
 of Seaford Cliff, and on another occasion saw a person bring 
 home one egg from thence^ but never after heard of them; 
 an old man told him that tbere were a great many before the 
 war^ when the soldiers disturbed them *. 
 
 The Cormorant is easily domesticated, and is often trained 
 to catch fish for its master, especially in China and Japan. 
 
 All the British Pelecanidce or Phalacrocoracidce have the 
 middle toe pectinated. It can be of no use to them for 
 holding fishj and I have no doubt it is given them to plume 
 their feathers and to rid themselves of parasites. 
 
 The Cormorant and the Shag are both known to the Sussex 
 fishermen as the " Scart," Mr. Graham, in ' Birds of lona 
 and Mull ' (p. 177), writing of the former as an article of 
 food, states, " I am extremely partial to scart soup ; it is 
 identical with hare soup." 
 
 SHAG, OR GEEEN CORMORANT. 
 
 Phalacrocorax graculus. 
 
 This bird, known as the "Scart," is very rarely met 
 with on our coast, and I never heard of any other Sussex 
 provincial name for it. Its habits are much the same as 
 those of the Cormorant ; perhaps the greatest exception is, 
 that this species prefers very dark caverns, or crevices in the 
 cliffs, for building its nest ; however, on those of Dorset they 
 breed in company. The Shag in diving, as I have often 
 observed off the Isle of Wight, jumps completely out of the 
 water. The flight is much like that of the Cormorant,, but 
 never so high. It has a very loud cry, generally, when 
 alarmed, resembling " gaw, gaw," hoarsely uttered. It has 
 another note something like " go-a-head," also hoarse. 
 
 * I am told, however, that a few pairs are nesting there at the present 
 time, April 1890. 
 
SHAG.— GANNET. 307 
 
 I understand there are not many Shags now in the Isle 
 or Wight, where they were formerly in considerable numbers, 
 on the Culvers at one end, and on the Needles at the other. 
 An immature specimen was shot at Rottingdean, in November 
 1890, and preserved by Mr. Pratt. Mr. Booth, speaking of 
 nests which he had examined on the west coast of Ross-shire, 
 says in his 'Rough Notes,' that they were composed of 
 heather-stalks and smaller twigs, with stems of ferns and 
 other plants, closely interwoven, with a cup-shaped lining of 
 coarse strands of grass and rushes. It does not, however, 
 breed in Sussex. Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 251) observes that he 
 had seen one or two examples, immature, which were killed 
 at Pagham Harbour during the hard winter of 1838-9. 
 
 GANNET, OR SOLAN GOOSE. 
 Sula iassana. 
 
 A CONSIDERABLE number of Gannets visit the Channel in 
 winter, generally some eight or ten miles out at sea, seldom 
 approaching the land, except in very severe storms ; the 
 greater part of them are immature. I think that in their 
 natural state they feed entirely upon fish, the herring and the 
 sprat being preferred. They are extremely voracious, and 
 will take as many as seven or eight large herrings at a meal ; 
 the elasticity of the throat is so great that, as I was informed 
 by Mr. Booth, one of those which he had in confinement 
 swallowed a Guillemot. Its principal breeding places in 
 Britain are Ailsa Craig, in the Pirth of Clyde, Souliskerry, 
 in the Orkneys, the Bass Rock, in the Pirth of Porth, and 
 St. Kilda. 
 
 When at liberty, they take their food by plunging down 
 upon it from a vast height, not by diving, though they do 
 
 x2 
 
308 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 dive freely, using the wings under water. The nest is 
 placed on high clifiFsj on the ledges, or grassy slopes on the 
 tops of them, and is composed of sea-weed and coarse grass, 
 torn up by the roots in masses, which is continually added 
 to during incubation. 
 
 There have been many instances of the Gannet being picked 
 up alive, after heavy storms, sometimes far from the sea, as 
 was the case with one found near Cowfold, and brought to 
 me alive, with its feet so " clobbed," as the Sussex people 
 say, with clay, that it could not fly. Another was picked up, 
 under similar circumstances, at Shipley. In April 1837, an 
 unusual time of year for this bird to be so far south, a Gannet, 
 unable to fly, was found at sea off Hastings. 
 
 On the 25th of February 1844, I had a Gannet sent me, 
 which had been caught alive at Kemp Town, Brighton ; he 
 could not fly, for which I could find no reason . On taking him 
 out of the hamper, he uttered a loud barking note, and fixed 
 on my hand, then transferring his attention to my arm ; I 
 got assistance, and with difiiculty succeeded in pinioning 
 him. On turning him into the water on a fenced pond, he 
 immediately returned, and gave me a highly unsatisfactory 
 peck on the leg, and seizing my trousers, shook them as a 
 dog would a rat. The next day, I tried to drive him into the 
 water with a stick, but he immediately showed fight, and 
 flew at my cloak. I had some trouble in getting rid of him, 
 but at length he was induced to go into the water, when he 
 swam to a little island, and sitting down remained quiet, 
 apparently sulky. He refused all food till March 3rd, when 
 he condescended to pick up a roach. Though I could detect 
 no difiFerence in the bird, except that he had discontinued his 
 barking note, he took at once to the water, if ashore, and 
 kept at a distance. On the 4th I threw him two dead sea- 
 bream, to which he swam up, but before he came to the 
 floating fish, thrust the whole head and neck under water 
 
GANNET.— COMMON HERON. 309 
 
 about two feet from them, and took them from underneath, 
 swallowing them whole, head first. After this he became 
 very tame and would follow me round the pond, taking 
 greedily pieces of bullock's liver, which he swallowed as 
 readily as fish. He frequently sat on the bank in the daytime 
 with his head under his scapulars *. Should a leaf or twig 
 fall from a tree he immediately swam out to see what it was, 
 and in swimming used his legs alternately. When frightened, 
 he would erect his tail considerably above the water, as he 
 did also when food was thrown to him. After swallowing 
 anything, he invariably washed his bill, often immersing the 
 whole head and neck. Not long after this, I was very sorry 
 to find him dead on the bank. He would attack strangers, 
 and I have no doubt had so molested a man whom I had set 
 to work near the pond that he had kicked him ofl", which of 
 course he would not own, I found, however, on taking off 
 the skin, that the Gannet had a large quantity of extravasated 
 blood on the muscles of the breast, and that the bird was a 
 male. 
 
 HERODIONES. 
 ABDEID^. 
 
 COMMON HEEON. 
 
 Ardea cinerea. 
 
 Sussex is well supplied with this bird, there being in it three 
 large heronries, and a few Smaller ones. Its food, when in 
 a natural state, consists of fish (especially eels), frogs, snakes, 
 
 * A bii'd never puts its head under its wing, thpugh it is popularly 
 supposed to do so ; it merely buries it under the feathers of the shoulder. 
 
810 THE BIP,DS OF SUSSKX. 
 
 and any small mammals it can get, a water-rat being a special 
 bonne bouche; but in confinement it is not so particular, 
 feeding greedily even on vegetable matter. In a hard winter 
 it betakes itself to the sea- coast, the mouths of the rivers, 
 and the salt-marshes. If wounded, it must be approached 
 with caution, for it will aim its spear-like bill straight at the 
 face of anyone stooping to pick it up. I well remember, 
 many years ago, a man who had his nose nearly split in two 
 by a Heron, and it will attack a dog with equal ferocity. If 
 a heronry be near a rookery, there is generally constant 
 warfare between the Heron and the Rook, the latter carrying 
 off, if it can, the sticks from the nest of the former, with 
 which to build its own. Notwithstanding these thievish 
 propensities of the Rook, the two birds occasionally breed 
 even on the same tree. In this county, the Heron always 
 breeds in trees, but in some districts it places i|s nest on the 
 ledges of high cliffs, and even on the ground. When the 
 Heron leaves its abode in search of food, which is at dusk, it 
 frequently flies so high that, were it not for its harsh voice, 
 it would often pass unnoticed. It returns to the heronry 
 about two o'clock a.m. In ' Sussex Archseological Col- 
 lections ' (vol. xxvii. p. 113) it is noted that a keeper at 
 Parham, being asked whether it was true that the Heron, at 
 pairing time, made strange noises, replied, " Yes, frightful ! 
 Unless you heard them you would never believe it. Some 
 years ago a rabbiter [sic), going one night to set his traps, 
 was terribly scared. He thought he heard a wbman 
 murdering a child ; the cries and shrieks were fearful. He 
 was so frightened that he ran off and cried ' Murder ! ' 
 People came to see. He forgot his traps and lost them." 
 There is no proof, however, that the terrible sounds pro- 
 ceeded from the Herons. These birds breed in company. 
 Mr. Knox, who gives a most interesting account of his visit 
 to the Heronry at Parham (O. R. p. 34), thus describes a 
 
COMMON HERON. 311 
 
 nest : — " The lower and external parts were composed of 
 sticks from the larch and fir, the material becoming finer 
 towards the interioTj which was lined throughout with very 
 thin birch twigs, closely matted together. It was much wider 
 than that of the Eoot, and shallower in proportion." I visited 
 this heronry in May 1876, and then there were just one 
 hundred nests, almost all on fir trees — a few on high birches. 
 A year or two after this, a tremendous gale blew away many of 
 these nests soon after the young were hatched, and numbers 
 were destroyed. The heronry is still prospering, and strictly 
 preserved. Mr. Harting, writing in 1873, gives in his 
 'British Heronries^ (p. 3) the following account of the 
 origin of that at Parham : — " The ancestors of these Herons 
 are said to have been brought from Coity Castle, in Wales, 
 by the falconer of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in Queen 
 Elizabeth^s time, to Penshurst, whence they migrated, about 
 sixty or seventy years ago, to Mitchelgrove, near Worthing, 
 and on the trees there being cut, they went to Parham, in 
 1833. A portion of the park of Mitchelgrove is in the parish 
 of Angmering ; and in Horsfield's ' History of Sussex ' (vol. 
 ii. pp. 140-1) may be found the following : — ' It is very 
 interesting to observe their early motions during the time of 
 their incubation. As soon as the morning dawns, they are 
 seen to congregate, and soon divide themselves into three 
 distinct bodies. One fiight takes an eastern direction, and 
 spreads itself along the course of the river Adur ; another 
 takes the upper part of the Arun, and pursues its course 
 toward the Wildbrook at Amberley ; the third and largest 
 flock take a western direction ; and while some drop along 
 the lower line of the Arun, others proceed to the Manhood, 
 or perhaps to Hayling Island. Although they start together, 
 they do not return in the same order, but singly, and at 
 different periods, according as they have been successful in 
 the pursuit of food.' " 
 
312 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 In the ' Sussex Archseological Collections ' (vol. xxvii.), 
 where a plate of the heroniy at Windmill Hill Place, near 
 Hailsham, is given, it is mentioned (p. 115) that the Rooks 
 and Herons occasionally nest in the same tree ; and Mr. H. 
 M. Curteis, in whose park it is situated, thus writes : — 
 " There has been a Heronry at this house for some con- 
 siderable time — probably dating with the century (but this 
 I am not certain about), but it seems that they and the Rooks 
 have continued, or migrated, together. 
 
 " The Herons were first in the Heron Wood, now cut down, 
 in Hurstmonceux Park. I do not know whether the Rooks 
 were at first there or not. The Herons and Rooks went, 
 after the Heron Wood was cut down, to the Toll, near the 
 Castle ; from thence, on the trees there dying and decaying, 
 they migrated to the sheep-walk, north of my house, a few 
 hundred yards from their old habitation (leaving still a few 
 nests near the turnpike road, from which they can still be 
 seen sitting on the trees) . The curiosity concerning them 
 was their building so close to the house, and in the trees 
 almost overhanging. The nests are not visible in the 
 drawing, as the Herons never build on the front trees.^' 
 
 Concerning the heronry at Brede, in the same paper in 
 the 'Sussex Archaeological Collections,' by the Rev. F. H. 
 Arnold, he says: — "A correspondent in 'Science Gossip' 
 informs me that ' it is one of the largest in England, situated 
 north of Pairlight, in a lonely wood, near Broad Oak, at 
 Udimore, near Rye, on the property of E. Frewen, Esq.' 
 The owner has kindly supplied me the following information : 
 "The heronry at Brede is situated in the north-east corner 
 of Great Sowden's wood. About twenty years ago some four 
 hundred nests could be counted in it ; but at present there 
 are barely two hundred nests. I cannot in any way account 
 for the decrease in their numbers, as the greatest care is 
 taken to preserve them, and no timber or underwood in 
 
COMMON HEKON. 313 
 
 proximity to the heronry has been cut for many yearsj so as to 
 avoid disturbing them. The trees in which they build are, 
 for the most part, large oak trees, underneath which nothing 
 grows but brambles. The wood is about eighty acres in 
 extent, and lies on the side of a hill facing the north. The 
 Rye and Finchall turnpike road runs along the top of the 
 wood, and by driving along the road the birds can be plainly 
 seen on their nests." — December, 1886. 
 
 In reply to Mr. Jeffery, who wrote to the Honble. 0. P. 
 F. Berkeley, in June 1890, he informed him that a few 
 Herons roost in the winter in Blackhouse copse, on the Old 
 Park estate, near Bosham, and that about a dozen years ago 
 there was a nest there with young birds, but so many people 
 came to look at them that they deserted the place. After 
 that, a heronry was established at Molecomb, near Good- 
 wood, where there is now a considerable colony. I am 
 informed that at Emsworth, Hants, where a small stream 
 divides it from Sussex, a Heron was shot from which was 
 taken a trout of two pounds weight. As lately as 1853, there 
 were a few nests in Folkington Wood, near the spot now 
 occupied by the Polegate Station of the L. B. & S. C. rail- 
 way. I remember also, when a boy, receiving a Heron's 
 egg which was taken from a nest in Hough Wood, near 
 Henfield, which, I believe, was the only one built there. 
 This was in the highest tree in the wood. 
 
 The Heron was formerly esteemed a delicacy for the table. 
 In ' The Northumberland Household Book ' we have : " Item. 
 It is thoughte in like wise that Heronsewes be boughte for 
 my Lordes owne Meas, so they be at XII'' the pece." It 
 may not be generally known that the Heron, when it gets 
 into deep watier, swims well, as I have myself seen in the 
 case of one which fell into a pond when wounded. Castings 
 of the Heron, of a substance resembling white semi-pellucid 
 jelly, may often be found about its haunts. 
 
314 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 PUEPLE HERON. 
 
 Ardea purpurea. 
 
 I CAN only find two instances of the occurrence o£ this bird 
 in Sussex. Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 226) writes : — "An example 
 o£ this rare Heron was shot on the 28th of September, 1848, 
 at Worthing, by a gentleman of the name of Paul. It was 
 preserved by Mr. Andrews, of that town, and is now in the 
 museum of the Cambridge Philosophical Society." Of the 
 occurrence of the Purple Heron at Catsfield, Mr. Ellman, in 
 the ' Zoologist,' p. 3330, writing in November 1851, makes 
 this statement : — " An immature specimen of this bird was 
 shot at this place last month, and is now in the possession of 
 a gentleman at Hastings." He bought it at the sale of Mr. 
 Ellman's birds. Mr. Potter, formerly a bird-stuffer at Lewes, 
 writing to me in February 1890, says that this example was 
 brought to him in the flesh, by a person who stated that a 
 neighbour of his had shot it, and that he asked him to take it 
 to him, and ascertain what he would charge for stuffing it. 
 He did not like the price, and Mr. Potter continues, "As the 
 pendants of the crest were not perfect, I doubted whether 
 it was a mature bird, and offered 5s. for it, saying I would 
 send him another 5». if I found it was mature, which I 
 did, to his address at Buxted, near which place he said it 
 was shot. I have forgotten the name and address." 
 
 Its nearest breeding places are the marshes of France and 
 Holland. In Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 175) we find Mr. 
 Alfred Crowley, who visited the Naarden Meer, near Amster- 
 dam, describes the nests as placed about three feet 
 above the water, and made by fixing down twelve or thirteen 
 reeds to form a platform, on which some smaller pieces were 
 laid crosswise. In Ceylon, however, it is found breeding on 
 
PURPLE HERON.— SQUACCO HERON. 315 
 
 trees, and forming flat, but rather bulky nests. At tbe same 
 page, the following description is given of the habits of the 
 bird : — " In its habits the Purple Heron is more like the 
 Bittern than the Heron last described, and it is shy, and to 
 a considerable extent crepuscular, and eyen nocturnal, in its 
 time of feeding. Prom the thinness of the long, snake-like 
 neck, the birds, even when numerous, are with difiBculty 
 distinguished, when they are standing in a reed-margined 
 lake, nearly up to their belly in water, their bodies in the 
 shimmering sunlight exactly resembling tussocks of reed. 
 The flight is similar to that of the Common Heron, but the 
 note is more guttural. The food of this species consists 
 of small mammalia, reptiles, fish, and aquatic insects." 
 Mr. Parkin (p. n.) gives the following account : — " Mr. Monk, 
 of St. Anne's, Lewes, has in his collection a Purple Heron, 
 which was shot by old Jack Fuller, of Brightling Park (a 
 well-known old sportsman), near Lewes, in 1823. A glass 
 case large enough for it could not then be procured for it in 
 England. The glass-blowers of Paris then doing larger work, 
 one was sent for from thence. The bird went into Mr. 
 Auckland's collection, at the dispersion of which it was pur- 
 chased by Mr. Monk. It was badly stufi'ed, the neck having 
 been cut in three pieces. It was re-stufifed by Mr. Swaysland, 
 of Brighton." 
 
 SQUACCO HERON. 
 
 Ardea ralloides. 
 
 This little Heron occurs irregularly on migration, but does 
 not breed in the British Isles. It is an inhabitant of Southern 
 Europe and Africa. The Eev. H. B. Tristram, writing on the 
 "Ornithology of Algeria," in 'The Ibis,' 1860, p. 163, states 
 
316 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 thatj at Halloulaj he found a large colony of Squacco Heronsj 
 ■who were just beginning to sit. Thirty or forty nests were 
 scattered about in various directions in a dense bed of reeds 
 piled up to the height of two or three feet from the mud, 
 supported on tufts of reeds, and composed of great heaps of 
 water-weeds and rushes ; each nest contained three or four 
 eggs. Naumann says that he has found very small fish, 
 frogs, small shells, and water-insects in the stomach. He also 
 remarks the partiality of this bird for the company of pigs j 
 it is probable that it is in the habit of feeding after these 
 animals as they turn up the ground with their noses, in the 
 same way that Eooks follow the plough. 
 
 Sometime in the summer of 1828, an example of this 
 species was shot by one Thomas Marchant, whom I had often 
 heard speak of it, at Wick Pond, in the parish of Albourne, 
 but it was not till January 1849 that I saw tjie specimen 
 myself, in the possession of the late Mr. Holman, of Hurst- 
 pierpoint, whose brother was tenant of Wick Farm when the 
 bird was shot. At his death it was sold to a tradesman in 
 Brighton, and is now in the possession of a gentleman there, 
 who has kindly allowed me to see it, and I have had it photo- 
 graphed. This specimen is in perfectly mature plumage. 
 
 A second Sussex specimen is mentioned by Mr. Knox 
 (O. R. p. 237) under the name of Little Egret; he states 
 that it was then in the possession of Sir Percy Shelley. I, 
 knowing that Lady Shelley was living near Bournemouth, 
 requested my friend the Rev. F. Hopkins, residing in that 
 neighbourhood, to find out whether Lady Shelley still had it, 
 and he kindly ascertained that Sir Percy had given it to the 
 Honble. Grantley Berkeley, and that it had passed from him 
 to Mr. Hart, the well-known naturalist, of Christchurch, 
 Hants, who still bas it in his museum. Mr. Hart informs 
 me that on receiving the bird he wrote to the late Sir Percy 
 Shelley, and sends me this extract from his reply : — " I gave 
 
a G- Keui.err.arLS dtl. et, iith- 
 
 Utrrcim. li^'oS . -.rJiZ"-^' ^'--ti 
 
 THE SQUACCO HERON. 
 
 Ai-dea. j-ailoule.'-: . 
 
SQUACCO HERON.— JNIGHT HERON. 317 
 
 Mr. Berkeley a stufEed bird ; it was a Squacco Heron, and 
 was shot by my keeper by the Wamham Pond, about two 
 miles from Horsham, on the hottest day of the very hot 
 summer of 1849. In its stomach were fourteen small roach, 
 without their heads, however." A pretty good meal for so 
 small a bird ! Why they were minus their heads I cannot 
 tell, as Herons in general swallow their prey whole. 
 
 NIGHT HERON. 
 
 Nycticorax griseus. 
 
 Like the last, this is a decidedly rare bird with us. I have 
 the following in my own notes: — ^November 1839, a specimen 
 of the Night Heron was shot at Alfriston. I examined it 
 myself and found it immature. The bird is noticed by 
 Mr. Knox, on my authority (O. R. p. 338), who further 
 says, that " since that period another example has occurred 
 near Cuckmere Haven. A male Night Heron was killed 
 near Appledram Sluice, by Sergeant Carter, on Septem- 
 ber 6th, 1851, and is now in the collection of the Bishop of 
 Oxford, at Lavington." This Heron feeds by night on 
 worms, fish, frogs, freshwater insects, and moUusks, and 
 conceals itself in trees during the day; it breeds in colonies. 
 Mr. Dresser (' Birds of Europe/ vol. vi. pp. 266, 267) writes 
 that the flight of the Night Heron is silent and soft, like 
 that of an Owl, the bird drawing in its neck, so that it looks 
 quite short, and carrying its legs stretched out straight 
 behind; that its call-note is seldom uttered in the day- 
 time but at night it is rather noisy than otherwise; and 
 that it climbs about the small branches of trees, and among 
 the close reeds and rushes, with facility ; also that its nest 
 is occasionally placed on low bushes, though generally in a 
 tree, rather flat in shape, built of twigs and thin branches. 
 
318 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 LITTLE BITTERN. 
 
 Ardetta minuta. 
 
 The Little Bittern, though it has occurred at various times, 
 must be considered a rare bird. It is of skulking habits, 
 and is with difficulty aroused from the thick beds of reeds 
 and sedge in which it conceals itself during the day. It 
 feeds on fish, frogs, and small freshwater mollusks. By 
 some, the note of the male is described as resembling the 
 sound uttered by a paviour when he delivers a blow with his 
 rammer : by others, to the syllable " pumm " several times 
 repeated. The female has a cry very like "get, get." The 
 nest is described in Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 304) as a solid 
 structure of flags, leaves, and bits of grassj^ attached to 
 upright growing reeds, very little above the water; and 
 sometimes, according to Gloger, a deserted Magpie^s nest, 
 in some low bush near a swamp, is utilized. Mr. Knox 
 (O. R. p. 327) states that an adult male was presented to 
 him by Mr. Austen, the Rector of Pulborough, which had 
 been shot as it rose from a weedy pond in his garden, in 
 May 1843; he mentions another male shot at Oving, in 
 the summer of 1853, which passed into the possession of ■ 
 Dr. Tyacke, of Chichester ; and that a third specimen was 
 killed in a water meadow, on the western border of Sussex. 
 Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) says that he shot an immature male or a 
 young female at Southbrook, between Ratham and Ashling, 
 in August 1863, and mentions another, adult, killed at 
 Runcton in April 1869, and a third, female or immature, at 
 Nutbourne on October 1st, 1873. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Parkin, of Halton, near Hastings (p. n.), 
 states that on October 31st, 1889, a Little Bittern was 
 taken on the Parade at Eastbourne. 
 
LITTLE BITTERN.— COMMON BITTERN. 319 
 
 In the 'Zoologist' (p. 2147) is the following : — " Occur- 
 rence of the Little Bittern at Ewhurst and Sedlescombe : 
 I have seen a male and female of Ardea minuta, which were 
 shot at the above places. The female about three months 
 ago ; the male at the latter place, I believe about fifteen 
 months since. — J. B. EUman, April 20th, 1848." 
 
 COMMON BITTERN. 
 
 Botaurus stellaris. 
 
 Almost every severe winter brings us a few of this species. 
 It inhabits bogs which are thickly covered with reeds, 
 among which it sits concealed during the day, wandering 
 abroad at night. It used formerly to breed in a large tract 
 of boggy marsh at Amberley, known as the Wildbrook, now 
 drained. It feeds on much the same substances as the 
 Common Heron, and, like it, has a, penchant for water-rats, 
 which I have more than once found in its interior, as I have 
 also the common Ditiscus marginatus, and eels. Among 
 fish, it seems to prefer the fry of pike. In my own notes, I 
 find that a Bittern was brought to me alive on January 11th, 
 1841, which had been caught near Cowfold. It was quite 
 passive and did not attempt to defend itself; nothing could 
 induce it to stand up or use its legs in any way, and in about 
 half an hour after I received it, it expired. I could find no 
 sort of injury, and on dissection it proved to be a female. 
 In the stomach were several grains of wheat, probably swal- 
 lowed with some small bird, which had been digested, and 
 a very hard pellet, chiefly consisting of the fur of the water- 
 shrew. No bones being broken, it furnished me with an 
 excellent skeleton. 
 
820 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 On January 11th, 1842, a Bittern was shot near Henfield, 
 and on January 6th, 1849, I received another, shot at 
 Lancing, which was a male, and I found in it two short-tailed 
 field-voles, and nothing else. In November^ 1850, a farm 
 labourer brought me a female Bittern alive, which was 
 standing beside the wharf at West Grinstead. It seemed very 
 weak, and could not or would not fly, but was very fierce 
 on being approached, ruffling out its feathers, especially 
 those of the head and neck, in the form of a shield, and 
 darting up directly in the face of the man who captured it. 
 When quiet, it stood with the whole of the tarsus on the 
 ground, the neck shrunk between the shoulders, the bill 
 pointing straight upward, looking exactly like a tuft of dead 
 sedge. I put it on a little island in a pond surrounded by a 
 wire fence, and retired a short distance, when after remaining 
 a few minutes stationary, where I had set it down, as if in 
 contemplation, with the head lowered nearly to the ground 
 and the neck stretched out, it deliberately walked to the 
 water, which was about three feet deep, and swam slowly to 
 the bank, where it remained quiet, in the position first 
 mentioned. I then caught it, and cut its wing. In swim- 
 ming, the head was stretched out a little, the lower mandible 
 being just above the surface of the water. It swam very 
 high, and the under feathers were very little wetted. I put 
 it into the pond again, and it swam with great ease and 
 deliberation some eight or ten yards, as if quite accustomed 
 to the water. The next morning it had escaped, and I never 
 saw it again. 
 
 The usual flight of the Bittern is slow and heavy, perfectly 
 noiseless, and in the daytime seldom sustained to any great 
 distance. I had once, though not in Sussex, a good oppor- 
 tunity of observing this, as I one morning flushed no less 
 than eight, in a very boggy and sedgy fen. They were all 
 perfectly mute, though it has been said that, when flushed, 
 
COMMON BITTERN.— AMERICAN BITTERN. 32l 
 
 it utters a harsh cry. In the breeding-season, its note has a 
 loud booming or bellowing sound, whence its name of 
 botaurus. The nest is on the ground, and is built of reeds 
 and flags, in the most impenetrable part of a fen. Of its 
 merits for the table opinions vary ; I have sometimes tasted 
 it, and consider its flavour very like that of a hare. 
 
 Mr. Jefi'ery (p. n.) mentions a Bittern killed at Fish- 
 bonrne, in January 1860, containing a flat fish and a hard 
 pellet of the fur of the water-rat and shrew, felted together. 
 Another was shot at Binstead, in January 1869 ; one at 
 Vinnetrow, in February 1880 ; and another at Ashling, in 
 January of the following year ; also a fifth at Vinnetrow, in 
 January 1887. Mr. Knox says he has seen it flushed from 
 the reed-beds at the upper pond in Burton Park. 
 
 In the ' Zoologist ' (p. 1178, s. s.) we find that a fine adult 
 male Bittern was shot at Steyning, in February 1868. 
 
 AMERICAN BITTERN. 
 
 Botaurus lentiginoms. 
 
 This exceedingly rare visitor has, I believe, only occurred 
 twice in Sussex. It is a shy and solitary bird. When 
 flushed among the reeds, it rises with a spring, and at that 
 time utters a loud croaking, in a manner expressive of 
 disgust at being disturbed, and flies ofi" as fast as it can with 
 dangling legs and outstretched neck ; but when settled on 
 its course it proceeds more smoothly, with head drawn in 
 and legs stretched out behind. If winged, it defends itself 
 stoutly. Its food consists of various small animals, mol- 
 lusks, crayfish, frogs, lizards, small snakes, and fish. Its 
 call is described by Audubon as a hoarse croaking, as if the 
 throat were filled with water. In the breeding-season the 
 
 Y 
 
332 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 male has anotlier peculiar note, which almost exactly re- 
 sembles the stroke of a mallet on a stake when driven into the 
 ground. Jt. Jitters also a peculiar call-note^ a rough guttural 
 explosive syllable, resembling " hauk " or " quauk " ; ordi- 
 narilyj however, it is a silent bird. The nest is placed on a 
 tuft of grass, or under a bash in a swampy locality {vide 
 Mr. Dresser's 'Birds of Europe/ vol. vi. pp. 291-393). 
 
 A specimen is recorded by Mr. Button, in the ' Zoologist ' 
 (p. 1098, s. s.), as having been shot by Mr. Vidler in Peven- 
 sey Marsh, on November 26th, 1867, which passed into the 
 collection of Sir John Crewe. The second Sussex specimen 
 was obtained on November 30th, 1879, from a patch of 
 reeds in Amberley Wildbrook, by a person of the name of 
 Knight, who sent it to Mr. Ellis, a naturalist of Arundel, by 
 whom it was sold to Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, and it is now 
 in my collection. This Bittern is said to be a good bird for 
 the table. 
 
 CICONIID^, 
 
 WHITE STOEK. 
 
 Ciconia alba. 
 
 This Stork has rarely appeared in the county ; in fact, it was 
 never more than an occasional straggler to any part of the 
 British Isles. It devours fish, frogs, young water-fowl, rats, 
 mice, moles, also earthworms and large spiders, and appears 
 to confine itself to animal food. The nest is' very large, 
 often on buildings in the middle of a town, consisting of 
 perhaps a cartload of sticks, lined with straw, grass, &c. ; 
 a new nest being rather flat, but fresh materials are occa- 
 sionally added to it, till it becomes of a great height. Such 
 
WHITE STORK 823 
 
 a one I saw in a high tree near Amsterdam. While feeding 
 in the meadows, it walks with a grave aspect and statdy gait. 
 Its flight is powerful, with the legs carried nearly straight 
 out behind it, and the feet close together ; both the legs and 
 the head are rather lowered, as if the feet at one end and 
 the head at the other were too heavy to be carried quite 
 horizontally, thus forming a segment of a circle. 
 
 When the Stork alights on the ground, it stretches its 
 legs widely apart, which gives it a strange and ungainly 
 appearance. While feeding, it utters an inward gurgling 
 note as if expressing satisfaction. I am not aware that it 
 has any other vocal sound, but it makes a great clattering 
 with its bill, throwing it on the back of the neck, almost 
 between the shoulders, at other times pressing it to the 
 breast while making this sound. 
 
 In my own notes I have the following : — A bird, positively 
 asserted to be a Stork, was observed on the 15th of Septem- 
 ber, 1841, standing on a building at Blackrock, Brighton, 
 which, on being approached to within about thirty yards, 
 flew out to sea and was lost sight of. In October 1859 
 another was shot at Selsey. As I knew that two Storks 
 had been killed near Brighton, I wrote to Messrs. Brazenor, 
 of the Lewes Road, who preserved them, and received the 
 following reply from his son : — " The two Storks you ask 
 about were bought by my father, and are now in the Brighton 
 Museum. They were killed on the Race Hill by the late 
 Mr. Richardson at one shot, on September 6th, 1873. They 
 were in a very exhausted state, and allowed a very near 
 approach. There is no doubt they were genuine wild birds, 
 for although a notice of their being killed was published in 
 many papers, we never heard of any having escaped from 
 confinement." 
 
 Mr. Ellman, writing to me in March 1852, mentions a 
 White Stork which was shot about three years before in 
 
 y2 
 
324 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 Romney Marsh, in October 1849, on the Sussex side of the 
 Kent ditch, and passed into the possession of Mr. Lordine 
 of Ewhurst, Sussex. 
 
 Mr. Booth, in his ' Rough Notes,' says that early in the 
 spring of 1875 he received notice from a " Looker " (a Sussex 
 term, signifying a person employed in the marshes to look 
 after the cattle) that a strange white bird had been seen 
 about the " Pells " in Pevensey Level ; that he sent a servant 
 acquainted with the Stork to find out what it was ; and that, 
 in crossing the marshes, he saw and clearly identified it, as it 
 was flying towards the Channel, and it was not seen or heard 
 of again. 
 
 In the ' Zoologist ' for 1884 (p. 489) is the following :— 
 " White Stork at Pevensey. Mr. Vidler, of Pevensey, near 
 Hastings, has kindly sent me a specimea of the White Stork, 
 killed during the latter part of August last. Mr. Vidler 
 writes that there were two Storks, and that they remained 
 about the shore for several days, but seemed very shy. At 
 last one was shot by a coastguard. The other flew away 
 inland, but was seen no more. — T. H. Nelson (Redcar)." 
 
 IBIDID^. 
 
 GLOSSY IBIS. 
 
 Plegadis falcinellus. 
 
 This extremely rare straggler has occurred in a few instances, 
 and does not breed in Britain, though in South-eastern 
 Europe it is by no means uncommon, nesting in the 
 marshes. In Mr. Dresser's 'Birds of Europe' (vol. vi. 
 p. 340) it is observed that on large morasses in places 
 difficult of access, the nest, which is carelessly constructed 
 
GLOSSY IBIS. 325 
 
 of dried flags and leaves of aquatic plants is placed on the 
 bent-down large water-plants on partially dry places in the 
 marshes. The food of this species consists of small reptiles, 
 the fry of fishes^ small Crustacea, aquatic insects, worms &c., 
 which it finds on the banks of rivers, the shores of lakes, and 
 muddy flats which are occasionally flooded ; it feeds also on 
 beetles and scorpions, and is especially fond of locusts. In its 
 flight, the pinions are beaten rapidly, producing a whizzing 
 sound, after which the bird skims for some distance ^see 
 Yarrell's B. B. vol. iv. p. 235). 
 
 In my own notes I find the following : — On May 25th, 
 1850, a male Ibis, in full mature plumage, was shot at 
 Piddinghoe, near Newhaven, by a labourer, and was sold to 
 a Mr. Baker, who sent it to the late Mr. Unwiu, naturalist, 
 of Lewes. Mr. Potter, writing to me, states that Mr. Unwin 
 sent it to him to set up, and that he purchased it for 
 Mr. EUman, from whom I bought it, and it is now in my 
 collection. 
 
 Mr. Knox (O. E. p. 228) has, " A specimen of this rare 
 straggler is in the possession of Mr. Duke, of Lavant, uear 
 Chichester, which was shot by Mr. Duke, Jun., of Earnley, 
 on the marshes ia that neighbourhood in November 1853." 
 
 Mr. Jeffery records (' Zoologist ' p. 109, s. s.) : — " On the 
 1st of November, 1876, Mr. Willett, of Brighton, informed me 
 that a Glossy Ibis had been shot near Arundel, about a 
 month previously, and that it had come into his possession." 
 Mr. Ellis, naturalist, of Arundel, who preserved the bird, 
 told me it was shot in a water-meadow, between Arundel 
 and Ford. 
 
326 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 PLATALEID-ZE. 
 
 WHITE SPOONBILL. 
 
 Platalea hucorodia. 
 
 The appearance of the Spoonbill in Sussex is merely as a 
 somewhat rare straggler, but that it formerly bred in the 
 county is shown by Mr. J. E. Harting, who quotes the 
 following somewhat quaint extract from a MS. Survey of 
 certain Manors in Sussex : — " ' M.^ that within half 
 
 a fuxlonge of Halnaker parke pale, on the west side thereof, 
 lyeth a parke called Goodwoode Parke ; and by the northest 
 parte thereof lyeth one other parke called Shelhurste Parke, 
 distaunt from Halnaker pale one quarter of a myle. And 
 on the north side of that pale lyeth one other parke called 
 Estden, halfe a myle dystante. In the woods called the 
 Weestwood and the Haselette Shovelers and Herons have 
 lately breed, and some Shovelers breed there this yeere ' * * * 
 " That the species referred to in this Survey is the Spoonbill 
 {Platcdea leucorodia) and not the Shoveller Duck {Anas 
 clypeata) seems clear for several reasons. In the first place, 
 'Shoveller,' 'Shoveler,' 'Shovelard,' and ' Sholarde ■" are so 
 many forms of spelling the old name for that species, as 
 clearly identified by Sir Thomas Browne. In the second 
 place, the birds in question were nesting ' in a wood,' where 
 the Shoveller Duck would not be found at any season. And, 
 further, they were breeding in company with Herons, a habit 
 not uncommon with the Spoonbill, as formerly observed in 
 Norfolk, and elsewhere" ('Zoologist,' pp. 426-438, s.s.). 
 
 The nearest breeding place to the British Isles is now 
 Horster Meer, between Amsterdam and Utrecht, which my 
 
WHITE SPOONBILL. 327 
 
 daughter and I visited in June 1883, when -we found about 
 two hundred birds, but owing to the " meer " having been 
 drained, the part of it on which these birds nested was left 
 an island, and the last boat having been removed a few days 
 before our visit, the place was inaccessible. The birds 
 indeed flew around us, and I was much surprised that, 
 though they were very close to us, we did not hear them 
 utter a sound of any kind. As to seeing the nests, it was out 
 of the question, but, on our way home, we had a basin full of 
 eggs brought to us which had been taken on the island a few 
 days before. Mr. A. Crowley, writing of a visit to this " meer " 
 in May 1884, thus describes the nests : — ^They were placed 
 on the mud among the reeds, just about a foot or eighteen 
 inches high, and two feet in diameter at the bottom, tapering 
 to about one foot at the top, where there was a slight 
 depression, in which lay four eggs, or four young birds. In 
 the young there was a great difference in age and size, one 
 being a day or so old, and the most advanced nearly ready 
 to leave the nest {vide Yarrell's B. B. vol. iv. p. 240). The 
 Spoonbill feeds on fishes and crustaceans, &c. I had an 
 excellent opportunity, at the Zoological Gardens at Amster- 
 dam, of observing the action of this bird while feeding, 
 moving its whole body, with the head, from side to side, 
 with the bill to half its length immersed in water ; it appeared 
 to pass the water through it and to sift out any solid por- 
 tions it might meet with'. There were several together, and 
 they seemed very amicable. 
 
 I will now mention its appearances in Sussex, and 
 first, from my own notes. A Spoonbill was shot at 
 Cuckmere Haven on October 15th, 1847. Mr. Ellman 
 informed me that three Spoonbills out of a flock of six 
 were shot near Hailsham, on the 3rd of October, 
 1850. On September 5th, 1856, one, an immature bird, 
 the biU being only 4J inches long from the forehead, was 
 
328 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 shot on the Adur^ near Old Shoreham Bridge. Mr. Knox 
 (O. R. p. 328) states that it had been shot at Rye and at 
 Pagham Harhour, that the Chichester Museum contains one 
 shot in that neighbourhood, and that a specimen is in his 
 own collection, which was shot near Seaford, in the autunm 
 of 1844; and Mr. Jeffery saw one at Chichester, which had 
 been shot in 1887, an immature bird. 
 
 ANSEEES. 
 ASATIDM. 
 
 GREY-LAG GOOSE. 
 
 Anser cinereus. 
 
 This is the only one of its genus which is resident in the 
 British Isles, and is supposed to be the origin of the common 
 domestic Goose. It formerly bred in the Cambridge, Lin- 
 colnshire, and Norfolk fens, and up to about a hundred years 
 ago a few continued to do so, particularly about Waterbeach 
 and Wicken. Its building places are now confined to a few 
 spots on the mainland, and on some islands in the lakes of 
 Scotland. The nest is a clumsy structure of dry herbage, 
 reeds, and, externally, a few sticks, placed on the ground. 
 It feeds chiefly at night, on tender grass and young growing 
 corn, as well as on grain, frequenting the inland morasses, and 
 occasionally the sea. This Goose is a rare visitor to Sussex, 
 though in severe winters a considerable flock has occasionally 
 been met with in the Channel, a mile or so off the coast. The 
 only individual which ever came into my hands in the flesh 
 was an immature specimen seat me by a lady for identifi- 
 
GREY-LAG GOOSE.— WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 329 
 
 cation, -vrhicli had been shot in the " Brooks " (as they call 
 the level of the Adur near Henfield)jOn the 29th of Novem- 
 ber, 1890. It was found alone, and had been observed some 
 days. Of this Goose Mr. Knox says (O. E. p. 242) :— " One 
 of our rarest Anatida. Has been occasionally shot during 
 very severe winters. I obtained two at Pagham, in 1839." 
 
 Mr. Booth, in ' Rough Notes,' makes the following observa- 
 tion : — " Large flocks pass along at sea a short distance oflF 
 the Sussex coast, though few, unless in exceedingly severe 
 weather, penetrate into the marshes. During the winters 
 from 1858 to 1869 I frequently shot over Pevensey Level, 
 but -not more than three or four individuals of this species 
 were obtained. Young birds occasionally reach the south of 
 England as early as October j ia 1882 one was shot in 
 Shoreham Harbour during the second week in the month." 
 The call-note of the Grey-lag Goose is similar to that of 
 the domestic bird. 
 
 In the 'Zoologist' (p. 2773), Mr. Ellman mentions that 
 in February 1850, which was of unusual severity, flocks of 
 wild fowl were very large, and that several Grey-lag Geese 
 were killed in the Sussex marshes. 
 
 WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 
 
 Anser alhifrons. 
 
 Generally known as the Laughing Goose, from its note ; it 
 is by no means uncommon on the coast, large flocks passing 
 in the Channel, about two miles from the land, during severe 
 weather, in the day-time ; and this and the Brent are the most 
 abundant of the genus. They come inland at night, and feed 
 on clover, grass, or any green crop they can find, especially 
 
380 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 turnips and rape. It makes a large nest near fresli water, at 
 a distance from the coast, and is in considerable esteem for 
 the table. One was shot in the parish of Twineham, Decem- 
 ber 30th, 1853. In February 1854 large flights of this 
 Goose passed along the coast. Mr. JefEery (p. n.) mentions 
 two shot at Sidlesham in the severe weather of January 
 1881 . The White-fronted Goose is mentioned by Mr. Ellman 
 among the number shot on the coast in February 1850. 
 
 Mr. Booth says that it visits the marshes and sandy flats 
 along the shore, as well as the mud-flats and the salt water 
 mud-banks. Formerly, several hundred might be seen 
 together on the marshes of Pevensey Level, but of late years 
 they have not been so numerous there. In the ' Zoologist ' 
 (p. 9100), Mr. Button has recorded one shot at Pevensey by 
 Mr. Vidler. Mr. Proctor says it breeds in Iceland, whence 
 he has received the eggs. • 
 
 BEAN GOOSE. 
 
 Anser segetvm. 
 
 This species arrives on the coast in large flocks, in almost 
 every hard winter, and is much more abundant than the 
 Grey-lag. It has never been proved to breed in Britain. It 
 feeds chiefly by night, and, like the last, comes inland to the 
 stubbles and grassy flats ; it is in some districts exceedingly 
 destructive to the young corn. 
 
 When feeding, it is very difficult to approach, and besides 
 being very vigilant individually, there is always a sentinel. 
 At times a flock will pass the night in some open fleld which 
 they have frequented in the day-time, but usually they 
 wiU retire to the mud-banks of the estuaries, where they rest 
 more secure from disturbance. Among the immense flocks 
 
BEAN GOOSE.— PINK-FOOTED GOOSE. 331 
 
 which pass oyer in stormy weather, the Bean Goose is 
 probably strongly represented^ but it is only a well-accus- 
 tomed eye that can distiaguish of which species the flocks 
 consist. When flying, they generally range themselves in 
 lines, and the noise they make somewhat resembles that of a 
 pack of foxhounds in full cry, and may be heard at a long 
 distance. They breed in Lapland as soon as the ice is 
 broken up. 
 
 Mr. Knox only says this bird is not unusual in hard 
 weather. Mr. WoUey, writing from Lapland, says that it 
 goes to the most retired districts to breed, and spends the 
 summer in marshes and moors towards the mountains, where 
 men are very scarce (Hewitson, vol. ii. p. 385, ed. 3). 
 
 PINK-FOOTED GOOSE. 
 
 Anser Irachyrhynchus. 
 
 This species is either a very rare bird, or it has not yet been 
 sufficiently distinguished from its congeners j in fact, it was 
 not discovered to be a distinct species till 1833. I have not 
 myself met with it in Sussex. 
 
 Mr. Dresser, in ' Birds of Europe,' vol. vi. p. 374, thus 
 speaks of it : — " In its habits, the Pink-footed Goose is said 
 to difiier but little from the Grey-lag Goose, which, indeed, it 
 more resembles in plumage than does the Bean Goose. Of 
 its breediQg habits, comparatively little is known. It is said 
 to breed in Spitzbergen. Professor Malmgren, who obtained 
 its eggs in the latter island, says that it is extremely shy and 
 wary. In the early summer, it is to be seen in small flocks 
 on moss-covered lowlands near the sea, where there is vege- 
 tation here and there, but in the ordinary breeding season it 
 is seen in pairs. When moulting, it frequents freshwater 
 
332 THE BIEDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 swampSj and here, when collected in flocksj it is to be met 
 with near the coast. The nest is placed in prominent situa- 
 tions on high rocks, or platforms, or on steep cliffs, often 
 close to a river, or in some grass-covered place. ... It is 
 extremely watchful.'^ 
 
 The Pink -footed Goose is included among the numerous 
 Geese killed out of the flocks of wild fowl shot in the marshes, 
 recorded by Mr. EUman in February 1850 ('Zoologist,' 
 p. 2773). An adult female of this species was shot at New- 
 haven, on the 3rd of January, 1891, and was shown me 
 by Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, to whom it was brought for 
 preservation. 
 
 Professor Newton, in his paper on the Birds of Spitz- 
 bergen {' Ibis ' for 1865 p. 514), mentions that the Pink- 
 footed Goose has been met with in Wide Bay, lat. 79° 35' N., 
 and that it probably occurs all along the west coast, where 
 Ludwig found a hatched-out nest, about midnight, in July 
 1864. Dr. Malmgren seems to have met with at least two 
 nests, in the upper part of Ice Sound, from both of which he 
 shot the female, and another nest was obtained at Mittle- 
 hook, in the same Sound. 
 
 BERNICLE GOOSE. 
 
 Bernicla leucqpsis. 
 
 This Goose has occuiTcd many times on the Sussex coast, at 
 irregular periods, but cannot be considered common, being, 
 in fact, a mere straggler. Of its breeding-place and habits 
 at that season, in its wild state, or of its egg *, little is knownj 
 but there appears to be a probability that it breeds in Spitz- 
 
 * In confinement it breeds freely, and the egg is only known from 
 specimens laid in that condition. 
 
BERNIOLE GOOSE.— BRENT GOOSE. 333 
 
 bergen. It is more commoii on the west coast of England 
 than in the south or east. Its food is said in Yarrell's B. B. 
 (vol. iv. p. 289) to be grass, and the bents which grow on the 
 sandhills. It is mentioned that Mr. Adams says that his 
 captive birds, which refused worms at other times, would eat 
 them in March, and in winter they were partial to " London 
 Pride " in the garden, cropping it close to the ground. Mr. 
 Knox (O, R. p. 242) mentions that he procured a few 
 specimens in December, 1838, and the following month, in 
 Pagham Harbour, and that it has occurred at Shoreham, and 
 at Rye. 
 
 Mr. Dennis wrote me word that one was shot, out of three, 
 in the Clinton Brooks, near Seaford, on February 5th, 1854. 
 Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey, in the ' Wild Fowler in Ireland ' 
 (p. 162), says that " Bemicle seldom, if ever, fly far inland 
 at high water, or to seek food, but usually remain within 
 sight of the tide. They are almost as sea-frequenting a 
 race as the Brent." In the ' Zoologist ' (p. 9100) , Mr. Dutton 
 mentions that Mr. Vidler shot one at Pevensey. A female 
 was brought to Mr. Pratt for preservation, which was obtained 
 at Shoreham, on the 7th of January, 1891. This bird was 
 alone. 
 
 BEENT GOOSE. 
 
 Bernicla brenta. 
 
 The Brent Goose, generally known as the Black Goose, is 
 the most abundant of all the race that visit the Sussex coast, 
 flights continually passing by, and in severe weather great 
 numbers come in for shelter on the marshes, but single birds 
 are occasionally met with inland. In my own notes, I have. 
 
334 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 however, a few instances. On November 20th, 1842, one 
 was shot on Henfield Level ; and another, on February 19th, 
 1843, nearly at the same spot. It frequents the estuaries and 
 mud flats, where it feeds on the sea- weed, Ulva latisperma, 
 known as the " laver," and on roots of the Zostera marina. 
 It is said also to feed on crustaceans. I have, myself, 
 often watched flights of two or three hundred, off Brighton 
 and Shoreham, when the weather was tolerably mild, winging 
 their way along the coast-line, flying almost always to the 
 eastward. 
 
 Mr, Booth states that he once found a couple of hundred 
 apparently sleeping on the waves, thoroughly worn out after 
 a heavy gale ; they allowed him to approach within some 
 twenty yards before noticing the boat, even then rising so 
 slowly that the party had time to discharge each of the 
 barrels of four guns, securing six of the birds. This Goose 
 is esteemed one of the best for the table. Its cry is an 
 oft-repeated utterance of the syllables, "honk," or ''konk." 
 In 'The Ibis' for 1865 (p. 512), we find that in Parry's 
 expedition a nest and two eggs were brought on board 
 from Ross Islet, lat. 80° 48' N. Dr. Malmgren found it 
 breeding in Treurenberg Bay, and Messrs. Evans and Sturge 
 on the South Cape Islands. 
 
 WHOOPEE, ELK, oe WHISTLING SWAN. 
 Cygnus musicus. 
 
 This Swan is to be met with in almost every hard winter, 
 occasionally in flocks. It feeds principally on vegetable 
 matters, insects, and moUusks. Its flight is generally low, 
 and though it appears to be performed in a leisurely and 
 
WHOOPER, OE WHISTLING SWAN. 335 
 
 easy manner, it is, in fact, of considerable swiftness. Its 
 note, wtence it is named, is a loud " whoop ! ' ' frequently 
 repeated. 
 
 Mr. Marshall, then of Bolney, shot an immature specimen 
 as it was flying rather low over his head ; it was many years 
 hack, but 1 cannot give the date, and it was preserved for 
 him. 
 
 In my own notes I find that many flights of Swans were 
 passing over Newhaven and East Blatchington, at the end of 
 December, 1854; and about the same time a small party of 
 five, and two or three larger fiocks, were seen flying over 
 Henfield. Mr. Knox (O. R. p. 243) observes, that in January 
 1839 he saw several flocks at Pagham, and procured many 
 specimens. Mr. Jeffery also states that three Swans were 
 seen iu Chichester and Bosham Harbours, in February 
 1865, and that one was shot out of seven, on January 
 23rd, 1867, and another near Havant. In February 1879 
 two were shot at Pagham ; in March of the same year 
 several were seen, and one killed, near Chichester j and on 
 December 29th, 1879, an immature specimen was obtained 
 at Bosham. 
 
 This Swan swims with its neck much more erect than 
 the Mute Swan, and^ as it never dives, always feeds in the 
 shallows ; when it has been feeding long in salt water, the 
 neck is often tinged with yellow. 
 
 In the 'Zoologist' (p. 7387), one is recorded as having 
 been shot at Poynings Springs, by Mr. Thorncroft, of 
 Brighton, on January 21st, 1861. This is said to have been 
 preserved, and to be in the possession of Mr. Botting of 
 Newhouse. I have the head and neck of a specimen killed 
 at the same spot, but cannot give the date. 
 
 I am indebted to Mr. Harting for the following copy of 
 an original letter in his possession, addressed by the Hon. 
 and Rev. W. Herbert to Edward Turner Bennett (names 
 
336 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 which will be familiar to readers of White's 'Selborne/ 
 edited by Beimett)^ and dated 12th December^ 1835 :— " A 
 few months ago, that is to say, at the commencement of 
 August 1835j I observed, day after day, a Swan, which was 
 a male of the kind called Wild Swan, or Whooper, standing 
 on the upland turf, which, from long continuance of dry 
 weather, was as brown as a beaten road, by the side of a little 
 paled enclosure adjoining the entrance lodge in Petworth 
 Park. Having enquired from the man inhabiting the lodge, 
 who had the superintendence of the water-fowl on the large 
 piece of water in the park, why that Swan was to be seen 
 constantly in a situation so uncongenial to the habits of his 
 race, he informed me that in the spring of 1834 it had had a 
 mate, with a brood of young Swans, in a hovel within the 
 little paled enclosure, where she and the young ones had 
 died ; and that ever since, the male Swan had persevered in 
 haunting the spot, and forciag his way there* whenever he 
 could find an opportunity, as if in search of them ; but that 
 at night he retired to the water in the park. Such an 
 instance of conjugal constancy in a bird deserves to be 
 recorded." 
 
 Mr. G. C. Atkinson, of Newcastle, met with a nest of this 
 species during his visit to Iceland. It was placed in the 
 centre of a small island, not more than fifteen or twenty 
 yards in diameter, and just rising above the freshwater lake 
 by which it was surrounded. The nest was made of water- 
 plants, and raised about six inches above the sward on which 
 it was placed ; it was about eighteen inches in diameter, 
 lined with materials similar to those used in its outward 
 structure, and contained three eggs in the last stage of 
 incubation. Mr. Proctor says that this species lines its nest 
 with down, with which the eggs are also covered. Mr. Wolley 
 met with the nest in Lapland (see Hewitson, vol. ii. p. 393, 
 ed. 3). 
 
BEWICK'S SWAN. 337 
 
 BEWICK'S SWAN. 
 
 Oygnus hewicM. 
 
 This Swan was first distinguished from the Whooper by the 
 late Mr. Yarrell and Mr. Wiagate, who observed about the 
 same time that there was a great difference in the form of 
 the trachea ; and the latter^ being a great friend of Thomas 
 Bewick, adopted the name Bewicki, which Mr. Yarrell had 
 proposed for it. It is much smaller and somewhat rarer 
 than the Whooper, which, in its general habits, it much 
 resembles, and, like it, only appears on our coast in severe 
 winters. 
 
 Mr. Dennis informs me by letter that a Bewick's Swan 
 was shot at Cuckmere Ferry, near Seaford. It had been 
 previously wounded in the wing, close to the body, and came 
 in from the sea, alone ; its gizzard contained fine gravel, and 
 a blackish substance of which he could not ascertain the 
 nature. Mr. Pratt informs me that a Bewick's Swan was 
 shot at Shoreham, and sent to him for preservation, in 
 October 1861. Mr. Booth, in his 'Rough Notes,' states 
 that he shot one of this species near Rye, in the winter of 
 1860 ; and in January 1871 fired at one close over his head ; 
 but, having only a charge of No. 10 shot in his gun, it passed 
 on apparently uninjured. Mi"- Jeffery, in his p. n., states 
 that one was shot near Brighton in December 1879, and 
 preserved for the Chichester Museum. The nest was 
 unknown till discovered by Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie- 
 Browu in the Lower Petchora, in 1875 (see 'Ibis,' 1876, 
 pp. 438-441). 
 
338 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 MUTE SWAN. 
 
 Cygnus olor. 
 
 Although the Mute Swan can scarcely be called a truly 
 British bird, yet it has so long been generally diflused 
 throughout the country that it can hardly be right to 
 omit all mention of it, especially as it has been admitted 
 by all writers on British Ornithology. It appears to have 
 been first iatroduced into Britain from Cyprus, by Richard I., 
 who began his reign in 1189, and, since that period, has 
 gradually spread over Europe, and as it breeds in a wild 
 state in Denmark and South Sweden, there is nothing very 
 remarkable in the supposition that it may occasionally 
 visit England at the time of migration. " When first intro- 
 duced, Swans were held to be royal property, no subject 
 being allowed to possess any private rights in them, when 
 at large on any creek or river, except by graat from the 
 Crown of a private mark, which, in the time of Edward IV. 
 (1483), was, except the King^s sons, only to be granted to 
 persons possessed of a freehold of the yearly value of five 
 marks, and in some cases the Crown allowed the seizure of 
 all White Swans, in certain districts, not having the mark. 
 About the year 1600, a payment of 6«. %d. was levied on the 
 Bishops of Chichester, then residing at Amberley Castle, 
 on the Arun, on their first coming to the Bishoprick, 
 with regard to their Swans on that river. These Bishop's 
 birds were 'butted on the lefte winge, and had three 
 notches on the right side of the beake.' The Swans of the 
 Earls of Arandell are butted on the right wing, and their 
 heels both cut oflf. Sir William Goring had a variety of 
 marks. One of the marks of Walter Barttelott, Esq., was. 
 
MUTE SWAN. 339 
 
 ' butted on the left winge, a notch on the right side of the 
 beake near the eye, and a slit on the outer blade of the right 
 foot, and a tongue on the inner blade of the same foot,'_ Sir 
 John Shelley, of Michelgrove, and Sir Edward Bishop, had 
 their notches and slits. The Autocrat of the High Stream 
 received the customary 6s. 8d. of the latter for a new Swan- 
 mark, and seized Swans to the Earls of Arundell's use, for 
 non-payment of the fee for the continuance of the mark." 
 (Antiq. of Arundel, 1766. See Sussex Archseol. Coll, 
 vol. xvii.) The public-house sign of " The Swan with Two 
 Necks " is said to be derived from the two nicks used as the 
 Swan-mark of the Vintners' Company. 
 
 The nest of this Swan is a very large structure, of weeds, 
 grass, &c., measuring some four or five feet across, aad two 
 or three high, placed near the water, and on the approach of a 
 flood it is generally raised higher, both the birds being assi- 
 duously engaged in the work. This Swan is generally rather 
 silent, but when angry it hisses like the Common Goose, and 
 in pairing time utters a few not unmusical notes. It feeds 
 on aquatic plants, moUusks, water-insects, frogs, &c., and in 
 the breeding season is exceedingly pugnacious. The only 
 Swannery in the Kingdom is situated at the western extremity 
 of an estuary called the Fleet, opposite Abbotsbury, in Dor- 
 setshire, the property of the Earl of Ilchester. This is about 
 nine miles long, and from a quarter to half a mile broad. 
 There are records of this Swannery long previous to the 
 Reformation, when it was the property of the neighbouring 
 monastery, at the dissolution of which, Henry VIII. granted 
 it to Giles Strangway, an ancestor of the present owner. 
 In 1880 the number of Swans was over one thousand four 
 hundred ; but in the winter of that year the Fleet was frozen 
 throughout, during an exceedingly low spring-tide, when the 
 water-plants growing at the bottom, becoming entangled in 
 the ice were torn up by their roots at the returning tide, 
 and many of the Swans either migrated or died, reducing 
 
 z 2 
 
340 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 the numbers to about eight hundredj which average is now 
 maintained. See Mr. Mansel-Pleydell^s ' Birds of Dorset- 
 shire/ where many further interesting particulars of this 
 Swannery are given. 
 
 So much has been written of this bird in poetry and in 
 prosCj and so numerous are the myths, both classical and 
 legendary, of which it is the subject, that to refer to them 
 would far exceed the limits of this little work, neither do 
 they apply especially to the county of Sussex. 
 
 COMMON SHELD-DUCK, or BUREOW DUCK. 
 
 Tadorna covnuta. ^ 
 
 This Duck cannot be called abundant on the Sussex coast,- 
 but it is occasionally met with in small parties of four, 
 five, or six, at sea, most of which are immature, and it is 
 seldom seen on the shore ; though I well remember, when 
 a boy, seeing about such a number on the beach at Shoreham, 
 which I approached within some hundred yards or so; at 
 that distance they looked black and white when they rose, 
 but an old coastguardsman told me they were Bar Ganders, 
 and had been about there two or three days. I suspect 
 the syllable " Bar " is a contraction -of " Burrow." Its 
 food consists of small mussels and other bivalves, sea- 
 worms, &c. The young, before they can fly, dive freely, but 
 whether the adult dive or not I have never been able to 
 ascertain. 
 
 On the south coast the nearest breeding-place to Sussex 
 is Poole Harbour, in Dorsetshire, whence I have received 
 eggs, taken out of rabbit-holes in the sandhills on the coast, 
 
COMMON SHELD-DUOK. 341 
 
 in which the nests are placed, sometimes near the entrance, 
 at others at a long distance from it. The nest is composed 
 of the dead coarse grass which is usually abundant on these 
 sandhills, and lined with a large quantity of the down of the 
 bird, which in texture and in value is almost equal to that 
 of the Eider Duok, and, when the parent is absent, the eggs 
 are completely buried in it. 
 
 Mr. Dennis informed me, but I have forgotten the date, 
 that two out of four Sheld-Ducks were killed in a pool left 
 by the tide, near the mouth of the Cuckmere river, at a 
 single shot, the cartridge passing through a young female 
 and killing an immature male beyond. He said that they 
 flew heavily, with the head low, but, settling among some 
 rocks, ran about in search of shell-fish very actively, and 
 that he had never seen more than four, nor less than two, 
 together, and that he had once seen a pair of young on the 
 Cuckmere in August, though they generally appear in the 
 winter. Mr. Booth, in ' Rough Notes,' states that after a 
 long-continued spell of severe weather in winter, birds of 
 this species are frequently seen in the Channel, off the south 
 coast, in small parties of two or three, or twice that number. 
 Mr. JefEery, in the 'Zoologist^ (p. 1034), states that on 
 November 25th, 1868, he saw two Sheldrakes, there called 
 Bier Ganders, in Chichester Harbour ; and iu the same 
 Journal (p. 2108), Mr. Alwin S. Bell records one shot on 
 the Hastings coast, in February 1870. Mr. Gordon, in his 
 ' History of Harting,' states that the Sheld-Duck has been 
 occasionally seen on the large ponds in .that parish. The 
 Sheld-Duck utters a low whistle during its flight. 
 
342 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 RUDDY SHELDRAKE. 
 
 Tadorna. casarca. 
 
 Only one specimen of this rare visitant has been procured 
 in Sussex, though it has occurred, in other counties, some 
 half-dozen times altogether. 
 
 Selhy (vol. vii. p. 293, Brit. Om.) mentions that the first 
 British example was obtained at Bryanston, near Bland- 
 ford, Dorset, in the severe winter of 1776, and is now in the 
 Newcastle Museum. In Mr. Dresser's ' Birds of Europe ' 
 (vol. vi. p. 464) it is stated that the author was informed 
 by a collector of Mr. Moschler, in Southern Russia, as 
 follows : — " The Ruddy Sheldrake breeds here in the hollow 
 trees ; and the male perches on a branch of the same tree 
 in which the female is sitting and gives warning in case of 
 danger ; and the female leaves her eggs when warned and 
 both birds fly round. Should anyone approach with a dog, 
 the Duck will fly close to the latter, and can then be shot ; 
 but if once missed they are careful to keep well out of 
 range." Mr. Dresser also states that Mr. Salvin and Canon 
 Tristram found it breeding in Algeria, in clefts in the cliffs ; 
 and that the nest itself consists merely of down plucked 
 from the breast of the bird. In Yarrell (vol. iv. p. 349) the 
 Ruddy Sheldrake is said to make its nest sometimes in the 
 middle of a cornfield, or in a marmot burrow on the plains. 
 
 The Sussex specimen to which I have alluded, was shot 
 on September 3rd, 1890, near Harting, and was taken to 
 the vicar, Mr. G-ordon, who sent it for preservation to 
 Mr. Pratt, of Brighton, where I saw it. It is a female, 
 undergoing the usual autumnal change of plumage, a few 
 freshly coloured feathers appearing about the neck and 
 breast. Mr. Gordon informed me that it appeared to be in 
 
RUDDY SHELDEAKE.— MALLARD. 343 
 
 a perfectly wild state ; it had evidently never been pinioned. 
 This species is known also as the Casarca Duck, Kasarka 
 being its Russian name. Latham says that it breeds on the 
 banks ot the Volga; and Temminckj that it builds its nest 
 in hollow trees, in the deserted holes of animals on the 
 banks, and in those of the rocks which bound some of the 
 great Russian rivers. 
 
 MALLAED, ok WILD DUCK. 
 
 Anas hoscas. 
 
 The Mallard is resident, and a few breed on the margins of 
 many of the large pieces of water throughout the county, 
 generally among the sedges and other coarse herbage at the 
 " tail " of the ponds, which signifies that part of them into 
 which the stream, the damming up of which forms the ponds, 
 enters. It very frequently places its nest in a wood, far 
 from the water, or by the side of some bushy unfrequented 
 pit. When there are eggs, they are covered with dead leaves 
 or rushes before incubation has commenced; afterwards 
 with a profusion of down. The nest has been occasionally 
 found on the head of a pollard willow or other tree, some- 
 times at a considerable height from the ground. Large 
 numbers are added to our indigenous birds in October, 
 which remain throughout the winter and depart before the 
 end of March. They do not often assemble in such large 
 flocks as other wild fowl. The Wild Duck, when flying, 
 has its head and neck stretched out in a line with its body. 
 It feeds mostly on vegetable matter, small fish, and frogs ; 
 it is very dexterous in snapping up insects on the wing, 
 and is especially fond of acorns. St. John states, iii his 
 '. Sport, &c., in Morayshire,' p. 8, that it feeds on the 
 
344 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 potatoes left in the fields. It seldom dives, except ■when 
 pursued by a dog or sporting with its fellows, when it 
 frequently rises at a great distance from the spot where it 
 went down. The old Drake, in confinement, often becomes 
 very tyrannical. 
 
 GADWALL. 
 
 Anas strepera. 
 
 The Gadwall is a rare bird in Sussex and does not generally 
 affect the salt water, but the marshes along the coast, 
 selecting much the same food as the Mallard, It breeds in 
 some of the English counties, but has not yet been known to 
 do so in Sussex. During the day it conceals itself among 
 the reeds, coming forth to feed at night. It does not dive. 
 I have a note that an adult male was shot at Amberley in 
 March 1845. In Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 373) the nest is 
 described as made of grass, lined with down, placed in a dry 
 spot at some little distance from the water, Mr. Knox says 
 that it has been occasionally shot at Pagham, and at Shore- 
 ham. A. female was shot by Mr. Burra in Pett Level, and pre- 
 served by Mr. Bristow, who thinks it was in November 1881. 
 
 SHOVELEE, SPOONBILL DUCK, oe 
 BROADBILL, 
 
 Spatula clypeata. 
 
 This very handsome species visits our coast and marshes in 
 the winter, and is not very uncommon. The nest has not been 
 found. in this county, though a few have bred.in many others. 
 
SHOVELER. 345 
 
 I have received the eggs from HicMing Broad, iu Norfolk. 
 A pair of these birds, which I have on a pond in my 
 grounds. Spend a good deal of their time in swimming 
 round and round, with their heads close together and their 
 bills immersed in the water as far as the feathers of the 
 forehead, thus having their nostrils under water. They raise 
 their heads about every half minute to breathe, and this 
 they continue to do for some quarter of an hour or so. 
 At other times they plough the surface of the water, which 
 they sift through their pectinated bills, retaining the ani- 
 malcula which inhabit it. They are very fond of duck-weed, 
 with which at one time the pond was covered ; however, a 
 pair of these birds very quickly cleared it. The only food I 
 give them is maize, on which they seem to flourish. They 
 are very skilful in catching insects on the wing. In its 
 natural state the Shoveler feeds on frogs and small Crustacea, 
 as well as on the seeds of various grasses, and is particularly 
 fond of those of Carex pendula. The call-note of this Duck 
 has been said to be somewhat like that of the Moorhen, 
 but the only note I have heard from my pair may be 
 represented by the syllables " konk, konh," uttered with 
 much bowing and flexion of the neck. 
 
 When shooting at Bolney Mill pond, on November 6th, 
 1864, a friend shot a female of this species as it flew over 
 his head, in company with two others j four male birds then 
 rose from the further end of the pond and flew over our 
 heads out of gunshot. In December of the same year an 
 immature Shoveler was shot from the same pond, where 
 three or four more of these birds were killed, after the one 
 I mentioned on November 6th. On the 39th of that month 
 I was shown a male and female which had been shot on 
 Ewhurst pond, in the parish of Shermanbury. Mr. Jefi'ery 
 (p. n.) states that two males were shot at Bosham, in Novem- 
 ber 1858, and another at Chichester, on December 7th, 1867. 
 
346 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 Mr. Booth observes that, during the -winters he shot in 
 Pevensey Level, he frequently saw the Shoveler. It breeds 
 in several counties o£ England and Scotland, forming its 
 nest of grass and down. 
 
 PINTAIL DUCK. 
 
 Bafila acuta. 
 
 The Pintail comes to our coast regularly in October, and 
 large flocks are often met with at sea, whence they come 
 into the mud flats to feed at night, on mollusks and small 
 Crustacea. It is also found in the marshes, especially on 
 those parts which are flooded. It generally prefers the 
 shallow water, where its long neck can reach 'the vegetation 
 at the bottom. 
 
 Though a somewhat silent bird, it occasionally utters a 
 hoarse sort of quack as well as a low guttural grunting note. 
 It does not breed in Britain, but the nest is described as 
 built among grass, in dry places, at some distance from the 
 water, and is rather deep and lined with dead grass. It is the 
 first of the Ducks to enter the decoy, and one of the best 
 for the table. It has been killed at Pagham, and at Chi- 
 chester Harbour, as well as at Amberley, also in Hentield 
 Level, and at Pulborough, but the greatest number are met 
 with on the sea. I remember seeing fifty or sixty in 
 February 1861, a mile or two off Rye Harbour, Mr. 
 "WoUey found the nest near Muonioniska, sunk in the moss 
 in a marshy spot, and lined with down. 
 
TEAL. 347 
 
 TEAL. 
 
 Querquedula crecca. 
 
 This, the smallest of our British Ducks, is in some degree 
 indigenous, a few breeding among the coarse weeds of our 
 larger ponds and marshes. Our native birds receive large 
 additions from the north and east, and they are almost the 
 earliest waterfowl to arrive, a few making their appearance 
 before the end of October, and those which do not remain 
 to breed frequently stay as late as the second week in April. 
 Mr. Booth (' Rough Notes ') observes under the date of 
 1881, April 11th : — "The Teal drakes whistling almost con- 
 tinually when not disturbed, the sound being somewhat 
 similar to that of the call of the cock Bullfinch. The note of 
 the female, who now and then responds, resembles the squeak 
 of a penny trumpet." The Teal feeds chiefly at night, on 
 seeds of various Carices and other water-plants, but during 
 the daytime is generally concealed among the coarse herbage. 
 It is essentially a freshwater Duck, though when frozen out 
 it takes to the sea or salt-marshes. It seldom congregates 
 in very large numbers, six or eight being usually found 
 together under the name of a plump of Teal. They may be 
 often found in the numerous pits in the woods, and in the 
 less frequented part of the open country, but seem rather to 
 prefer those thickly surrounded with trees, and when dis- 
 turbed seldom fly to any great distance, dropping into some 
 similar pit to that from whence they had been driven. The 
 nest is very like that of the Mallard. 
 
348 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 GARGANEY, or SUMMER TEAL. 
 Querquedula circia. 
 
 This beautiful little Duck is certainly much rarer than the 
 Common Teal. It may be looked upon as an occasional 
 summer visitor. It has not been known to breed in Sussex. 
 
 Some fifty years ago I found a nest^ with seven eggs, in the 
 driest part of a fen not far from Upware, in Cambridge- 
 shire. It was composed of dry sedge, the eggs being thickly 
 covered with fine down. In Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 394) 
 it is stated that, in the Broad district of Norfolk, the densest 
 reed-beds are preferred ; but Mr. Booth {' Rough Notes ') 
 makes this observation respecting the Garganey : — " About 
 Hickling Broad, w^here I have had ample opportunities of 
 observing them during the summer, I remarked that the 
 eggs were usually laid in the patches of rushes in the unre- 
 claimed marshes, at some little distance from the water, not 
 a single nest having, to the best of my knowledge, ever been 
 detected in a reed-bed. Now and then the birds were 
 known to have bred among the long coarse grass and tufts of 
 rushes on the dryer portions of the hills surrounding the 
 Broads, but as a rule they go further from their usual 
 haunts.^' 
 
 In my own notes I find the following: — "Mr. EUman 
 informs me that his friend Mr. Vidler shot, on the 11th of 
 March, 1853, four male specimens of the Garganey, near 
 Pevensey; again, on the 21st of March, 1857, three speci- 
 mens of the Garganey were observed at sea about fifteen 
 miles off Brighton, and one, a'imale, was shot. " The food of 
 the Garganey is said, in Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. pp. 394-^ 
 395), to consist of water-plants, grain, insects- and their 
 larvse, small frogs, worms, &c. I can find no proof of 
 
GARGANEY.— WIGEON. 349 
 
 either this species or the Common Teal feeding on acorns, as 
 the name would lead one to suppose. Mr. Knox (O. R. 
 p. 244) thus states : — " Immature examples of the Garganey 
 are not unusual in the winter at Pagham, Shoreham, Rye, 
 and Hastings." Now, as the Garganey is a spring and 
 summer visitant, I fancy there is some mistake. In April 
 1866 ('Zoologist,' p. 266, s. s.), Mr. Jeffery has recorded 
 that a pair of these handsome little Ducks were killed near 
 Selsey, and a male, now in the Chichester Museum, in the 
 same month some years before ; and Mr. Monk notes, on 
 p. 2141, that on March 25th, 1870, an immature male 
 Garganey was shot in the marshes near Lewes, in company 
 with six others. 
 
 WIGEON. 
 
 Mareca jpenelope. 
 
 The Wigeon, which from its note is also known as the 
 Whew, arrives in considerable numbers about the end of 
 September, which continually increase through the winter. 
 In February the males seem to select their partners ; after 
 this, they do not gather together in such large flocks, and 
 by the beginning of March they have mostly departed 
 for the breeding-season. The Wigeon lives on vegetable 
 matter, chiefly, according to Waterton, on the short grass 
 which is the favourite food of the domestic Goose ; it also 
 frequently attends the Pochard, when it is pulling up Zostera 
 marina, of which the Pochard eats only the root, and the 
 Wigeon the fronds, which are left floating on the surface of 
 the water. In a domestic state the Wigeon does well on 
 maize, and attends the diving Ducks, if several are diving 
 together, and picks up something, for I never could ascertain 
 
350 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 whatj which floats to the surface from the mud. At night 
 the Wigeou comes in from the sea to the marshes, and 
 freshwater ditches and pools, and the shrill whistle of the 
 wings and the cry of the bird may often be heard through- 
 out the night. The Wigeon generally goes northward to 
 breed, yet that it occasionally breeds in Sussex appears from 
 the following instance. The late Mr. C. Scrase Dickins, of 
 Coolhurst, near Horsham, informed me that, in the middle 
 of May 1854, he saw the old and young birds swimming 
 about in Birchin Bridge Pond, and that the nest was about 
 seventy or eighty yards from the water in the old copse, 
 between the Hammer Pond (so named from being one of those 
 which drove the machinery for breaking up the iron-stone 
 in former days) and Hawkins Pond, all three of which are 
 near Coolhurst, and that the nest was very similar to that 
 of the Wild Duck, with perhaps more down. He told me 
 also that they had a brood the summer before, *but he did 
 not then know of the nest ; his keeper told him that they had 
 bred several times in the forest. Mr. Booth says that when 
 the drake Wigeon begins to whistle, the mandibles are 
 opened wide for several seconds. 
 
 Mr. Selby was the first to discover the nest in Scotland, 
 which was on an island in Loch Laighal, well concealed 
 among rushes, and composed of their decayed stems, inter- 
 woven with a large quantity of the bird's down. It breeds 
 abundantly in Norway and Lapland. 
 
 POCHARD. 
 
 Fuligula ferina . 
 
 The most abundant of the diving Ducks, and the best of all 
 for the table, arrives on our coast about the middle of April, 
 
POCHARD. 351 
 
 very few remaining to breed. In fact, I know of only one 
 instance of its nest having been found in the county, which 
 I discovered myself, on the side of the lower Mill Pond, at 
 Bolney, close to the water-side. It contained three eggs, 
 but I unfortunately cannot give the date. The bird is very 
 clumsy and awkward on the land, and heavy and sluggish 
 on the wing ; on its first rising, flapping for a short distance 
 along the surface of the water. It feeds chiefly on Zostera 
 marina, which it obtains in the shallows of the estuaries, 
 eating only the root, though when at sea it also finds various 
 Crustacea and small fish. In a semi-domesticated state the 
 Pochard does well on maize. The only note I have heard it 
 iitter is a harsh curr, curr, except that, when courting the 
 female, the male has a note resembling the syllables " poo- 
 00-00," delivered with the head and neck stretched straight 
 out towards her, almost on the surface of the water. It 
 dives with great ease, but does not use its wings under 
 water. 1 have never but once seen my birds interfere with 
 fish ; in that case one of them gave a pretty hard peck to a 
 considerable-sized tench, which was on the surface of the 
 water. 
 
 The nest is merely a hollow in the ground, lined with 
 dead sedge and down. The Pochard is generally known to 
 the wild fowler and the poulterer as the Dun bird, and is so 
 difiBcult to take in the ordinary decoy pipe, from its cunningly 
 diving back when it perceives that it is entering it, that an 
 especial contrivance has to be adopted for capturing it, as 
 from the great estimation in which it is held for the table, 
 and the large numbers which may be taken at a time, it is 
 one of the most valued of all the Ducks. 
 
 Mr. Jeflfery remarks (p. n.) that he saw about sixty, 
 mostly adult males, in Aldworth Pond, near Stansted, in 
 January 1867, and that three were shot in Ratham Mill 
 Pond, in January 1879. Since writing the above, I have 
 
352 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 heard a female Pochard on my pond utter a hoarse dissyllabic 
 croak, inexpressible in writing, the head at the same time 
 being thrown back till the occiput touched the bird between 
 the wings. 
 
 FERRUGINOUS, or WHITE-EYED DUCK. 
 
 Fuligula nyroca. 
 
 This diminutive species, called also the Castaneous Duck, or 
 Nyroca Pochard, is a very irregular visitant to this country, 
 and can only be called an accidental straggler, appearing 
 occasionally from January to April, It breeds in Poland 
 and in the valley of the Danube, but more abundantly in 
 Turkestan and Cashmere. The nest is describe^ as placed 
 among high rushes, at a short distance from the water, 
 composed of dry aquatic plants and flags, and lined with its 
 own down and a few feathers. It is a very expert diver. 
 Its food consists principally o? vegetable matter, insects, 
 and small mollusks. 
 
 I have heard of only two examples occurring in Sussex. 
 An adult male was shot in January a few years ago by the late 
 Mr. Dennett, of Woodmancote Place, on a pond near his 
 house, where I have lately seen it, but was unable to ascer- 
 tain the date more precisely. It was preserved by the late 
 Mr. Swaysland. A second example was shot from a pond 
 near the residence of Miss Simpson, of Fyning House, 
 Harting, by that lady's gamekeeper, Mr. Collins, and pre- 
 sented to Mr. Gordon, vicar of the above parish, who sent 
 it to Mr. Kerr, of Stackstead, Lancashire, by whom it was 
 identified as a young female of the Ferruginous Duck. 
 
 The first mention of this species as British seems to have 
 been made by Pennant, who says in 'British Zoology' 
 
FERRUGINOUS DUCK.— SCAUP DUCK. 358 
 
 (vol. ii. p. 372), published in 1813:— "The description of 
 this species was sent to us by Mr. Bolton " ; and after 
 giving this he further states : " This species he informed us 
 was killed in Lincolnshire ; we do not find it mentioned by 
 any writer except Linnaeus, who took his description from 
 Eudbeck's paintings, and adds that it is found, though 
 rarely, in the Swedish rivers." 
 
 Temminck says that it breeds among reeds, on the borders 
 of large rivers and marshy districts. Mr. G-reen states that 
 he received the eggs from Holland. (See Hewxtson, vol. ii. 
 p. 435, ed. 3.) 
 
 SCAUP DUCK. 
 
 FuUgula mania. 
 
 This Duck arrives on our shores in October, leaving again 
 early in April. It is exclusively a sea-frequenting species, 
 never coming inland, or into the estuaries, unless wounded, 
 or driven in by stress of weather. It is found in small 
 numbers all along the coast, wherever the water is shallow, 
 but occasionally flocks of several hundred are met with in 
 the Channel, many miles from the land. This Ducik feeds 
 on marine vegetable matters and shell-fish, especially mus- 
 sels, the vast beds of which being called in the northern 
 counties scaups, has given rise to the name. The large 
 flocks are generally difficult of access, but when in small 
 parties they are much easier to approach within shot. The 
 Scaup swims very low in the water, showing nothing but the 
 back, head, and neck above the surface, and is a very expert 
 diver. It does not breed in Sussex, but retires into the far 
 north. 
 
 In Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 436) may be found the fol- 
 
 3a 
 
354 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 lowing : — " The late Mr. Proctor seat the author word that 
 the Scaup Duck is a very common species in Iceland, where 
 it breeds either among the aquatic herbage^ or the large 
 stones near the edge of fresh water, making a slight nest, 
 with a quantity of down covering the eggs." As an article 
 of food the Scaup is not worth having, as the flesh is rank 
 and fishy. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) states that in February 1870 
 a female was shot near Chichester, and several were seen 
 about that time ; and in December 1879 another was killed in 
 Bosham Harbour. He considers it a rare bird on that part 
 of the coast. In 'Zoologist' (p. 9047) Mr. Dutton states 
 that Scaup Ducks were unusually plentiful about Eastbourne, 
 in February 1864. 
 
 TUFTED DUCK. 
 
 Fuligula crisfata. 
 
 This species is not uncommon on our coast, and in the 
 estuaries from October to March; a few may occasionally 
 be seen on the larger inland ponds. It is an excellent diver, 
 and though it stays under water for a considerable period, 
 and often rises to the surface many yards from where it 
 went down, it does not use its wings under water. Mr. 
 Dickins informed me that there was a brood of Tufted 
 Duck on Birchin Pond in May 1853, and another on the 
 lake at Knepp Castle, in Shipley, near West Grinstead, in 
 1854; in both these cases the parents were wild birds. It 
 usually goes far more northward to breed, to wit, Rain worth, 
 near Mansfield, Nottingham, whence Mr. Whitaker kindly 
 sent me the eggs. It breeds also in Norfolk and on many of 
 the Scotch lakes, on one of which, at Skene, near Aberdeen, 
 I saw many pairs in August 1887, and from the peculiar 
 manoeuvres of one bird, I have no doubt she had a brood on 
 the take ; but owing to the strong ripple on the water I 
 
TUFTED DUCK.— GOLDEN-EYE. 355 
 
 could not get sight of the young. The note resembles the 
 syllables "kyrra, kyrra," pronounced in a very high key. 
 The nest is placed among the rushes and other coarse 
 herbage, generally near the water, being a mere depression in 
 the ground lined with dry sedge, and the eggs are covered with 
 a profusion of down. The bird feeds on the weeds growing 
 in the water, and a pair which I have had for several years in 
 confinement, on a pond in my grounds, where there is no 
 vegetation growing in the water, have continued in excellent 
 health on maize. 
 
 I once met with one of these Ducks at table, Mr. Whitaker, 
 of Rainworth, on my visit to him to see their breeding- 
 place, having kindly had one served up for the occasion, and 
 I thought it a very good bird, though some authors do not 
 seem to agree with me. 
 
 Mr. Jeffery states that two males and one female were 
 killed on Aldworth Pond, Stansted, in January 1867, and a 
 few seen near Chichester in February 1870 ; and mentions 
 that a crippled female was caught in Ratham Mill Pond, in 
 January 1871, and one bird shot on the same pond, in 
 December 1878. 
 
 GOLDEN-EYE. 
 
 Clangula glaucion. 
 
 The Golden-eye visits our shores in small flocks every 
 
 winter, being more abundant if the weather is very severe. 
 
 It is found at sea, as well as on most of the larger pieces of 
 
 water, inland, in the latter case generally singly. The adult 
 
 male is much more difficult to obtain than the female, or 
 
 immature bird, and, from its great power of diving, one which 
 
 is merely winged or otherwise slightly wounded is exceedingly 
 
 troublesome to capture, should it fall into the water. Its food 
 
 consists of small fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. It does not 
 
 2a2 
 
356 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 breed in Sussex, nor I believe in any part of the British Isles. 
 In Norway and Lapland, it places its nest in holes of trees, 
 sometimes as much as eight feet from the ground, and the 
 bird has been seen to carry its young down to the water, 
 holding it under the bill, but supported by the neck of the 
 parent. Boxes are often supplied for it by the natives, 
 which are lined with the soft down of the bird, (See Yarrell, 
 B. B. vol. iv. p. 438.) 
 
 I have the following notes : — On January 1st, 1840, a male 
 specimen was shot in Heniield Level ; the patch at the inser- 
 tion of the upper mandible, having but few white feathers, 
 showed it, I suppose, to be not quite mature. On February 
 6th, 1841, I was standing in a severe snowstorm, at Lancing, 
 •with deep snow on the ground, when a Golden-eye suddenly 
 plunged perpendicularly down into a small salt-water pool, 
 like a piece of lead, but, immediately rising again, I shot it, 
 and it proved to be an adult male. On November 6thj 1856, 
 I shot a female Golden-eye on the lower pond at Bolney. 
 
 Mr. Booth, in his ' Rough Notes,^ states that he has 
 known several small parties, and single birds, to remain for 
 some weeks about the muddy harbours and estuaries of the 
 Sussex coast. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) mentions that two adult 
 females were shot near Chichester, in January 1867 ; one, 
 immature, on Ratham Mill Pond, in February 1872, and 
 several in January 1887. Mr. Knox says that he has shot 
 this bird at Pagham, and received several specimens killed at 
 Burton and Pulborough, presenting that state of plumage 
 in which it has been called the " Morillon." Mr. Naylor, 
 in the ' Field ' of January 19th, 1887, records a male Golden- 
 eye shot on the Crumble pond, Eastbourne, in December 
 1886 ; and no doubt many other specimens have been obtained 
 in the county. An adult male was killed some years since, 
 on the lake at Knepp. It is known in Sussex as the " Magpie 
 Diver," though in some counties this name is given to the 
 Tufted Duck. 
 
LONG-TAILED DUCK. .",57 
 
 LONG-TAILED DUCK. 
 
 Harelda glacialis. 
 
 This is a winter visitant^ and is most numerous on our 
 coast during a long continuance of severe weather, and is by- 
 no means common, although small flocks are occasionally met 
 with in the Channel. It feeds on fish, mollusks, Crustacea, 
 and freshwater insects. Its note is loud and musical, and may 
 be represented by the word " calloo ; " during the breeding, 
 season it is very pugnacious, often fighting with its com- 
 panions. It does not breed in Britain. The nests were found 
 by Messrs. Shepherd and Upcher, on a small island in Lake 
 Myvatn in Iceland, and were placed among low bushes by the 
 edge of fresh water, and composed of grass, with a thick lining 
 of down (see Yarrell, B. B. vol. iv. p. 449) . 
 
 In my own notes I find a female Long-tailed Duck was 
 obtained near Hailsham, in the winter of 1849-50. Mr. 
 Knox (B. B. p. 346) says :^"I shot a young male at Pagham 
 Harbour, out of a flock of Scaup Ducks (1839). Immature 
 specimens have occurred on other parts of the coast, near 
 Chichester, Brighton, and Pevensey, and I have a specimen 
 which was shot as far inland as Amberley, in the hard winter 
 of 1844-5." 
 
 Mr. Booth, in ' Rough Notes,' writes of these Ducks that 
 it is " only when the weather is severe that they favour the 
 flat sandy shores to the west of Brighton, in Sussex, with a 
 visit. In December 1879 and again in 1880 I remarked them 
 in greater numbers than usual. . . . Small parties of from six 
 to eight up to double that number are not unfrequently seen 
 in this part. On a fine still morning, in the last week of 
 December 1883, when the sea was as smooth as glass, I noticed 
 about a dozen, in company with as many Eiders, and some 
 
358 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 hundreds of Common and Velvet Scoters ; so watchful, how- 
 ever, were the whole community, that it was impossible to 
 approach within range." A' correspondent of the 'Field/ 
 February 5th, 1887, states that he had seen a male Long- 
 tailed Duck, which had been shot at Rye. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) 
 records that a male and female were shot at Sidlesham, in 
 November 1860, and an immature specimen at the same 
 place, November 1868. In the ' Zoologist,' Mr. Button 
 mentions that a fine female was killed by a farmer, with a 
 stone, while swimming in a small pond near Polegate, in 
 January 1864 (p. 9046) ; and at p. 2059, s.s., Mr. Jeffery 
 records an immature specimen, taken near Chichester, 
 November 35th, 1870, and another from Sidlesham, 
 December 1878. 
 
 EIDER DUCK. 
 
 Somateria mollissima. 
 
 This species is met with in small numbers, and is rarely 
 found at any great distance from the sea. It is a regular 
 autumn and winter visitor to the Channel, off our coast, 
 generally in small flocks, feeding on the shallows, in company 
 with other species of diving Ducks, on small mussels and 
 other bivalves, crabs, and shrimps. According to Mr. Booth, 
 it also swallows sea- weed, grit, and small stones, to assist 
 digestion. Selby ('British Ornithology,' vol. ii. p. 339), 
 speaking of the nest in the Fame Islands, states that it is com- 
 posed of dried grasses, mixed with a quantity of the smaller 
 algEe, and, as incubation proceeds, a lining of down plucked 
 by the bird from her own body is added. In Yarrell (B .B. vol. 
 iv. p. 459) it is stated that, although the nest is usually at no 
 great distance from the water, it has occasionally been found a 
 mile or two inland, and also at a considerable elevation. 
 
EIDER DUCK.— COMMON SCOTER. 859 
 
 Colonel Feilden states that he has taken one in the Shetlands, 
 placed in the midst of knee-deep heather, at least 500 feet 
 above sea-level. Mr. Knox (0. R. p. 245) says that an 
 immature bird was shot on November 1830, at Chichester 
 Harbour, and two, some years before, at Eye Marsh, associated 
 with a flock of Brent Geese. Mr. Jeflfery, in p. n., says that 
 a female was shot at Selsey, December 1858, and another 
 in December 1873, at Bosham ; also a young male, at the 
 same place, in December 1880. Mr. Booth, in 'Rough 
 Notes,' states that one or two immature females were shot 
 oif Rottingdean, in October 1882 ; that he secured two drakes, 
 out of eight immature birds, which were diving off" a stony 
 bank a short distance from the beach near Lanciug ; and that 
 he had frequently recognized Eiders off the coast of Sussex. 
 He refers to a flock of seven, which he saw on December 
 29th, 1883, somewhere off that coast. 
 
 In the ' Zoologist ' for 1881 (p. 63) Mr. Herbert Langton, 
 of Brighton, states that an immature Eider was seen to settle 
 on some rocks, off Rottingdean, January 3rd of that year, 
 and after remaining all night, Mr. Guthrie, of that place, 
 after a long chase, succeeded in obtaining it ; it had been 
 previously wounded. 
 
 COMMON SCOTER. 
 
 (Edemia nigra. 
 
 Tins Scoter is an abundant visitor to the Channel every 
 winter, and is exclusively marine in its habits, assembling in 
 flights of some hundreds, on the sandy or rocky shallovTs, 
 where they obtain, by diving, the bivalves, Crustacea, and small 
 fish on which they subsist. Flocks of various numbers may be 
 constantly seen fishing off Shoreham and Lancing, generally 
 
360 THE BIRDS OP SUSSEX. 
 
 about a mile from the shore, but individuals often fly in to 
 the very edge of the breakers, whence, iiowever, they soon 
 return to the main body. This bird never enters the har- 
 bours or estuaries, except in the very heaviest weather, or 
 when it has been crippled. 
 
 The Scoter is most commonly known as the " Black Duck," 
 but is occasionally called the Coot. It breeds in high North- 
 ern latitudes, and according to Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 274) 
 the nest is generally placed on an island, in a freshwater 
 lake, or in the bogs in the vicinity, and is composed of grass 
 and moss, with a lining of down. I have noted that on 
 February 7th, 1841, a specimen of this Duck was shot by the 
 late Mr. Scutt, on a piece of water near the Lewes Paper 
 Mills, known as the Pell, an adult male, the gizzard contain- 
 ing a single specimen of Cardium. Mr. Knox observes 
 that the Scoter may be found in the Channel at all times of 
 the year. The flesh of this species is extremely unpalatable, 
 strongly resembling a mixture of bad fish and rancid train-oil, 
 and it is perhaps for the sake of the additional mortification 
 that the Roman Catholics are permitted to enjoy it on fast- 
 days*. The French have a proverb, "II ressemble a une 
 macreuse (scoter), il n'est ni chair ni poisson," applied to an 
 unreliable person. The only note I have heard from this bird 
 resembles somewhat the syllables " te, te " hoarsely repeated 
 several times. 
 
 * On this subject there is an amusing treatise by M. Graindorge, pub- 
 lished at Caen in 1680 and reprinted at Paris in 1780. See also ' Corre- 
 spondence of John Ray,' published by the Ray Society in 1848 (pp. 131, 
 134, 135, 147, 148). 
 
VELVET SCOTER. 361 
 
 VELVET SCOTER. 
 
 (Edemiafusca. 
 
 The visits of this Duck to our coasts occur at the same 
 time as those of the Common Scoter, and, though less abun- 
 dant and more local, the habits of the two species seem 
 to me identical, except that the Velvet is much the wilder 
 of the two, and appears in smaller flocks. According to 
 Yarrell (B. B. vol. iv. p. 479), itfrequents, and breeds on, the 
 large lakes in the mountainous districts of Scandinavia, 
 especially those of which the shores are flat and boggy, and 
 covered with vegetation; and the nest is placed in a dry spot 
 at a considerable distance from the water, in a mere depression 
 of the ground, under some bush or tree, and lined with leaves 
 and down. I take the following from my own notes : — 
 
 On February 33rd, 1841, 1 saw, at a Brighton bird-stuffer^s 
 since dead, an adult male specimen, which had been shot near 
 Alfriston, several miles inland, and which passed into my 
 collection. At the end of February 1851, a male was piclted 
 up dead, on the beach, at Rottingdean, and preserved by 
 Mr. Pratt, from whom I received the trachea. On February 
 20th, 1861, I shot, about a mile ofE Rye Harbour, four males 
 and one female, of this species, of which there were several 
 flocks, which we found impossible to approach in a sailing 
 boat, but by rowing, which was very hard work in the rather 
 heavy sea which was running at the time, I obtained a few 
 shots. The first was the only bad shot I ever made 
 with which I was greatly pleased, for I missed the leading 
 bird at which I aimed, and killed the two .behind it, at which 
 I did not shoot, a male and female ; as I wanted specimens 
 this suited me well, as I had only a shoulder-gun. On 
 
382 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 March 4th I was again at about the same place^ and saw flocks 
 consisting o£ from three to thirteenj and obtained one more 
 male, though they would rarely allow the boat to approach 
 nearer them than about three hundred yards, and a few Black 
 Ducks, of which I saw many hundreds. The boatmen told 
 me they were generally there, and a little further to the east, 
 till late in June. The gizzards of both the Common and 
 the Velvet Scoters contained large full-grown specimens of 
 Cardium edule, and a few specimens of a small Area. I was 
 there again soon after, in a perfectly calm sea, and could not 
 get near either species, though I saw many of both. Mr. Knox 
 states that he had a specimen, without date, which was killed 
 off Selsey Bill. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) observes that one was 
 obtained at Selsey, and went to Chichester Museum, but I 
 have not the date. 
 
 In the ' Zoologist' (p. 9101) Mr. Button records that one 
 was taken alive, near Eastbourne, on April 14th,*1860 ; and 
 again (p. 9578) that he purchased a female, shot ofi^ that 
 town, November 3nd, 1865. 
 
 GOOSANDEE. 
 
 Mergus merganser. 
 
 Tnts, the largest of the British Mergausers, is by no means 
 a common species, and seldom visits us, except in the hardest 
 winters, when it may be occasionally met with, both on fresh 
 water and on the sea. Fish and Crustacea seem to be its 
 only food. It breeds in hollows in trees. And Mr. Booth states 
 in 'Rough Notes,' that he has frequently obtained the young 
 in the down, in the Northern Highlands of Scotland. The 
 Goosander is known to the coast shooters as the ''Spear 
 Duck;" its note is a loud whistle. Mr. Gordon, in his 
 
GOOSANDEE.— EED-BEEASTED MEEGANSEE. 363 
 
 ' History of Harting/ includes it in the list of birds occurring 
 in that parish in severe winters, Mr. Booth states that 
 twenty-five years agOj at Pagham, and more lately at Rye 
 and Shorehanij he has met with this species. They are now 
 less plentiful about the Sussex harbours than on the East 
 coast. Mr. Dennis informed me that a fine male Goosander 
 was brought to him, killed near Seaford, in January 1850 ; 
 another (sex not mentioned), on the 17th of the same 
 month ; and a third, shot in very severe weather, in December 
 1856. Mr. Jeffery (p. n.) states that a male Goosander was 
 shot at Birdham, in January 1868, which passed into the 
 Chichester Museum. One is mentioned, as procured near 
 St. Leonards-on-Sea, in February 1880, in the 'Field' 
 newspaper. Mr. Anthony Ralph Biddulph, of Burton Park, 
 has been good enough to inform me that he killed two speci- 
 mens of the Goosander on the lake there at one shot, but 
 that he never heard of the Hooded Merganser there, so that 
 the report alluded to by the Editor of Yarrell's B.B. (vol. iv. 
 p. 510) was a mistake. 
 
 EED-BEEASTED MERGANSEE. 
 
 Mergus serrator. 
 
 Although this species is not very common, it is more fre- 
 quently met with than the last, especially females and im- 
 mature birds, and is not so much addicted to fresh water, 
 though, as far as the tide runs up our rivers, it may occasion- 
 ally be found in them. Like the Goosander, it feeds exclu- 
 sively on fish, of which, when wounded, it will sometimes 
 disgorge a large number. It does not place its nest in hol- 
 lows of trees, but on the ground, generally among heather, 
 or under the shelter of thick bushes ; in the South of England 
 
364 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 it does not breed, but the nest has often been found in Scot- 
 land. When the bird has been long in salt water, the breast 
 becomes of a rich salmon colour. I have a female in my own 
 collection, shot at Shoreham in February 1842. Mr. Jeffery 
 (p. n.) mentions a male, killed at Selsey, December 1864, and 
 that he saw another male, killed in the neighbourhood, at Mr. 
 Beatson's shop in Chichester, in the same month j that in 
 January 1867 they were numerous, and many were killed in 
 Chichester and Bosham Harbours, and that he found an eel 
 nearly a foot long, and a small crab, in one from Bosham. 
 In 1871, Mr. Jeflfery saw four in Bosham Harbour, also a 
 few on the 18th of January, 1873, and one in the same year as 
 late as August 1st. In the ' Zoologist ' (p. 6606), Mr. Wilson 
 records a male, shot near Worthing, in the spring of 1853. 
 
 SMEW. 
 
 Mergus albellus. 
 
 The Smew may be found in this county in considerable 
 numbers, in most severe winters, the females, known as 
 " Redheads," being the most common. Like the rest of the 
 Mergi, it gets its living entirely by diving, at which it, like 
 them, is a great adept, fish being its only food. 
 
 Mr. Wolley, while in Lapland, was the first to find out its 
 breeding habits, of which a most interesting account may be 
 found in ' The Ibis ' for 1859 (pp. 69 to 76). The nest was 
 built in a hole of an old birch tree, which had been lined with 
 feathers. Mr. Wolley states that the Smew had a habit of 
 turing out the nest of the Golden-eye, and taking possession, 
 and that the eggs of the Smew being smaller, and thus less 
 saleable, the Smew, when caught in the hole, was killed by 
 the natives, I have an adult male in my own collection. 
 
SMEW. 365 
 
 whicli was found dead, but in excellent condition^ buried in 
 a snow-drift, by which, as no shot-marks were found on the 
 skin, it had" apparently been overwhelmed while asleep, on the 
 bank of a ditch in the level near Alfriston. In my own notes 
 I find the following : — On February 19th, 1844, I saw, at a 
 bird-stuffer^s at Brighton, two adult male specimens of the 
 Smew, which had been shot at Amberley, during the last 
 week of the previous month. Mr. Parker has noted that a 
 bird of this species was shot by Mr. Dunn, at Paul Grove, 
 near Bexhill, which is now in his possession. Mr. JefEery 
 (p. n.) tells us that a young male was shot at Chichester 
 Harbour in January 1861 ; an adult male, near Mundham, in 
 January 1870 ; a female, at Bosham Mill Pond, September 
 1875; another at Ratham, December 10th, 1875 ; and a fifth, 
 a female, at Bosham, March 8tb, 1888. In the ' Zoologist ' 
 (p. 4762) it is stated that in May 1855 Mr. Grantham ob- 
 tained a female, between Cuckmere Haven and Seaford. In 
 p. 9046, Mr. Dutton records an adult male shot at Cuckmere 
 Haven, in February 1864; at p. 9101, an immature specimen 
 shot near Eastbourne; and at p. 9578 he says that Mr. Bates, 
 of Eastbourne, received an immature specimen, February 
 1865. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 The following extracts are from unpublished manuscripts of 
 W. Markwick, Esq., of Catsfield, near Battle, of the 
 existence of which I was fortunate enough to be made 
 aware while this book was in the press. The ornithological 
 portion of them consists of three folio volumes, containing 
 coloured drawings and descriptions of 136 British Birds. 
 There are also, in these same volumes, notices and figures of 
 a few Quadrupeds, Reptiles, and Crustacea, and descriptions 
 of Fish, without figures ; two or three folio volumes con- 
 taining drawings and descriptions of Wild Plants, far better 
 executed than those of the Birds, all relating to Sussex, and 
 dating from 1793 to 1805, written partly at Catsfield and partly 
 at Denne Park ; one manuscript volume of Mr. Linnseus' 
 ' Birds of Sweden,' and several of Natural History extracts 
 from the works of numerous travellers. All these are in the 
 possession of Mrs. Eversfield, of Denne Park, near Horsham, 
 who most courteously gave me permissioii to make such 
 extracts as I should think suitable. It may not be generally 
 known that Mr. Markwick married Miss Eversfield, of Denne 
 Park, of which he eventually became the owner, and took 
 the name of Eversfield. 
 
 The following description of the Dark-Brown Hawk, or 
 Buzzard, differs somewhat from the coloured figure, which 
 more resembles the Honey Buzzard than any other of the 
 genus; but this species does not worry Rooks, and is 
 not in this country in the winter, neither do the given 
 dimensions agree with those of the Honey or any other 
 
APPENDIX. 367 
 
 Buzzard. It is impossible, even with the assistance of the 
 figure, to decide with certainty what bird Mr. Markwick 
 intended to represent. I, howeverj give the description, and 
 leave it, quantum valeat : — 
 
 "A Bark-Brown Hawk, or Buzzard, Falco. — When I 
 arrived at Denn Park, near Horsham, in May 1793, 1 found 
 in the Garden two Birds of the Falcon Genus. One was the 
 Common Buzzard before described, and the other was a 
 Hawk or Buzzard of a very dark brown Colour, which was 
 caught alive in the Park by the Gardiner, during the pre- 
 ceeding Winter. He observed two of them to resort together 
 in Pursuit of the Books, and caught one of them with a 
 Snare. I ordered this Bird to be put into a Cage, and made 
 the Drawing from the living Bird. It was somewhat less, 
 and more slender, than the Common Buzzard, and its 
 Measurements were nearly as follow : Its Length from the 
 Tip of the Bill to the end of the Tail, about 18 inches, and 
 its Breadth from Tip to Tip of the Wing when extended, 
 about four feet. Its Bill was hooked, of a dark blue, with 
 a blackish Tip, and the Cere was of a Lemon Colour, as were 
 the Edges of the Mouth, which was beset with several black 
 Hairs, or Bristles. The Eyes were large and beautiful, the 
 Irides of a hazel Colour, the Head, hinder Part of the Neck, 
 Back, Wings, and Tail, were of a dark-brown chestnut 
 Colour, darkest on the Quills and Tail, which last was barred 
 with dusky ; the Chin and Throat were whitish, streaked 
 with dark brown ; the Breast and Belly were also irregularly 
 variegated with white and dark brown; The Thighs were 
 brown, and the Vent variegated or barred with dark brown 
 and white. The Legs and Feet were of a pale yellow, and 
 the Claws hooked, sharp pointed, and of a black Colour. If 
 this is not a Variety of the Moor Buzzard, F. Mruginosus, 
 I know not of what Species it is, and it is probably new as a 
 Bri^^ish Bird." 
 
 Of the Kite, of which Mr. Markwick gives a description 
 and figure, though he does not say where it was killed, he 
 
368 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 makes the following remarks : — " Montague says, ' This 
 Bird, from its great Length of Wings and Tail, is capable of 
 supporting itself in the Air, with very little Motion, and for 
 a great Continuance, but is slow in Flight.' This is true in 
 general, but it can occasionally exert itself with great Quick- 
 ness. I once saw two Kites soaring in the Air with an easy 
 Motion, at no great Distance from a Reedy Marsh, when 
 one of them by Accident, or by Design, dropped Something 
 from its Claws, which appeared to me, as it fell towards the 
 Ground, to be either a small Eel or a Snake ; when instantly 
 the other Kite darted after it with amazing Velocity, and 
 caught it in its Claws with surprizing Dexterity before it 
 reached the Ground. '' 
 
 Mr. Markwick gives a figure and description of the Hobby, 
 and says, " That it breeds here I know, having seen a Young 
 one of this Species in the Garden at Denn Park, which was 
 taken in the Neighbourhood of Horsham." 
 
 Of the Roller, which he mentions in his Catalogue in the 
 Trans, of the Linn. Soc. vol. iv., he gives a figure and adds 
 the following : — " The Bird from which I drew this Figure 
 was shot and caught alive near Crowhurst Church, in this 
 Neighbourhood, on the 23nd of September, 1790, It lived 
 several Days, but was dead, flayed, and badly stuflPed, when I 
 saw it on the 2nd of October after." 
 
 Speaking of the Landrail, of which he gives a figure, 
 he remarks : — " Though Mr. Latham says few Places in 
 England are destitute of this Bird in Summer, I am inclined 
 to think it does not breed here in Sussex, as I never heard 
 of any Nest or Young Ones being seen, nor did I ever see the 
 Bird itself earlier than the 24th of August. That it is a Bird 
 of Passage there is no Doubt, appearing with us about the 
 latter end of August, and disappearing about the Beginning 
 of November, for the latest I ever heard of was one being 
 shot on or about the 6th of November." 
 
 In the same MS. he says of the Great Snipe : — " This 
 Bird was killed in the Neighbourhood of Horsham, and 
 
APPENDIX. 369 
 
 given to me by a Friend^ on the 1st of October, 1793." Here 
 follows the description. He then states, " There can be 
 little Doubt of this being the Scolopax Major of Latham, 
 tho' my Specimen is inferior in Size and Weight to the 
 Bird described by him, and seems to differ also somewhat in 
 the Colour of its Plumage; perhaps this Species is subject to 
 A^'ariety." 
 
 He observes of the Flycatcher : — " It is the latest of all 
 the Summer Birds of Passage, as I have known but one 
 Instance, in Three and Twenty Years, of its Appearance 
 before May, and that only two Days sooner, viz., 39th of 
 April j perhaps because its Principal Food, Flies, do not 
 abound till that Time. However, it can feed on Fruit, and 
 is reckoned very mischievous in Gardens, on account of its 
 eating Cherries." — Now that this is quite a mistake I have no 
 doubt. I suppose whoever gave Mr. Mark wick his information 
 had mistaken the Garden Warbler, which is very fond of 
 cherries, for the Spotted Flycatcher. — Wm. Bokrer. 
 
 Of the Siskin, Mr. Markwick observes that " It is a Bird of 
 Passage. Mr. Latham says it is not unfrequent in England 
 in the Winter Season, but I have never seen it here at that 
 Time ; the earliest of my observing it was on the 5th of 
 April, 1768, and, in the Year 1780, 1 first saw it on the 10th 
 of April, and it continued with us till the 30th of the same 
 Month. I have seen it hanging back downwards, like a 
 Titmouse, as Mr. Latham describes it, picking the Seeds out 
 from the Cones of Fir Trees, which at that time began to 
 open from the Heat of the Sun. Its Stay with us is not 
 above a Fortnight or three Weeks at the Farthest." 
 
 Of the Lesser Redpoll he says : — " This Bird, which I 
 received from a Friend, was killed on the 37th of November, 
 1797 ; it is very rare in this Neighbourhood, being the only 
 Specimen I ever saw." 
 
 Of the Waxwinff, Mr. Markwick says : — " The Bird from 
 which I drew the figure was killed in this Neighbourhood 
 about the middle of February, 1801." Here follows a 
 
 3b 
 
370 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 description of this specimen. He also mentions having 
 examined two more of these Birds, and remarks on the 
 difference in the number of the waxlike appendages on the 
 wings. With regard to the Golden Oriole, of which he gives 
 a figure of a male, he remarks :-^" This Bird, which is very 
 rare in England, though not so in France and other parts of 
 Europe, was killed in the Neighbourhood and sent to me on 
 the 4th of May, 1807." 
 
 " The Swallow 7V«6e.^-The earliest Visitor of this Tribe in 
 these Parts is the common House Swallow, Hirundo rustica, 
 which makes its first Appearance generally in April. I 
 never saw it sooner than the 7th of that Month, nor have I 
 observed it later in the Year than the 16th of November, 
 and then but few of them, for they, in general, disappear 
 at least a Month sooner. 
 
 " The next is the House Martin, Hirundo urbica, which 
 appears usually in April. I never saw it earlier than the 
 14th of that Month, but I once saw it so late as the 8th of 
 December, though the generality of them had disappeared 
 long before that Time. 
 
 " The Sand Martin, Hirundo riparia, usually appears in 
 May. Having a Sand Bank in the Neighbourhood, where 
 some of these Birds breed, I have been able to ascertain 
 with some Degree of Certainty the Appearance of these Birds 
 for the last three Years. In 1789, on the 28th of April, 
 none were to be seen ; but on the 6th of May I saw several. 
 In 1790, on the 8th of May, none were to be seen ; but on 
 the 11th I saw several. Also in 1791, on the 5th and 7th 
 of May, none were to be seen, the Weather being cold. On 
 the 8th it grew warmer; and on the 10th I saw several. 
 In the first of these Years I saw one of these Birds about 
 the End of September for the last Time. In the next Year I 
 visited the Sand Bank on the 6th of September, but no 
 Birds were to be seen. In 1791 I went from home in 
 August, and when I returned on the 23rd of September, 
 none of these Birds were to be seen near the Sand Pit. 
 
APPENDIX. 371 
 
 " The Swift, Hirundo apus, is the latest in its Visit, usually 
 appearing first in May, and not continuing with us nearly 
 so long as its Congeners j the latest that I ever saw it was 
 the 11th of August. 
 
 "■ How this Tribe of Birds dispose of themselves in Winter ? 
 is a Question that has employed the Pens of the most able 
 Naturalists, some of whom assert that they migrate from 
 one Country to another, and others that they dispose of 
 themselves in Holes and Caverns, and even under Water, 
 remaining in a torpid State till the Return of Spring, and 
 then survive and resort to their old Haunts : both of which 
 opinions have been so ably supported by Authors of the 
 first Credit, that it is scarcely possible to refuse one^s Assent 
 to each of them ; and indeed (tho' it may be thought pre- 
 sumptuous in me to hazard a Conjecture after such great 
 Authorities) I am inclined to think that what that very able 
 Naturalist Mr. Pennant asserts is the real Pact, that the 
 greatest Part of this Tribe do migrate, but that some of 
 them, perhaps the late Broods and weak Birds, have a Power 
 of laying themselves up during Winter in Holes and Caverns, 
 in a torpid State, and of reviving again in the Spring at the 
 same Time with the Flies and other Insects ; for why should 
 not the Bird be capable of doing this as well as the Insect 
 on which it feeds ? Of their Migration I think I have often 
 observed what amounted to almost a Proof of it, viz., their 
 assembling together in great Numbers (I mean only Swal- 
 lows and Martins, H. rmtica and urbica) on the Tops of 
 Buildings, in the Month of September, and sometimes great 
 Plights of them are seen very high in the Air ; indeed from 
 the Testimony of Sir Charles Wager and Capt. Wright 
 there can be no Doubt of it : and some Circumstances have 
 induced me to give Credit to the Opinion of (at least some 
 of them) passing the Winter in a Torpid State. So late as 
 November, long after the Majority of them have disappeared, 
 I have frequently observed, on a warmer Day than usual, 
 one or two Swallows or Martins fiying backwards and 
 
 2b3 
 
372 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 
 
 forwards under a warm Hedge or on the sunny side of some 
 old Building ; nay, once on the 8th of Decemher, I saw two 
 Martins, flying about very briskly, the Weather being mild. 
 From whence could these Birds come if not from some Hole 
 or Cavern where they had laid themselves up for the 
 Winter? Surely it will not be asserted that these Birds 
 migrated from the Coast of Africa, or any other distant 
 Country, at that Season of the Year merely on the coming 
 of two or three fine Days? Again, in the Spring a few 
 Swallows or Martins will frequently make their Appearance 
 on a warm Day so early -as April, but they do not appear in 
 any Number till later in the Summer, and tho' this does not 
 absolutely prove their lying in a torpid State, yet it favours 
 that Opinion." 
 
 Thus far Mr. Markwick. 
 
 I was not aware, till after this work was in the press, that 
 Mr. T. J. Monk, of Lewes, had, in the ' Field ' Newspaper 
 of January the 25th, 1871, while endeavouring to induce 
 the Sportsmen of East Sussex to establish a close time for 
 Woodcock, from the 1st February, given a list of parishes 
 in that division of the county in which he had known them 
 to breed, namely, Ardingly, Ashburnham, Balcombe, Battle, 
 Brightling, Catsfield, Chailey, Crawley, Dallington, East 
 Grinstead, East Hoathly, Fletching, Frant, Hartfield, 
 Maresfield, Mayfield, Newick, Rotherfield, Slaugham, Tun- 
 bridge Wells, Waldron, and Worth. There are other 
 interesting points in Mr. Monk^s paper, but I abstain from 
 further extracts, as I hear that we shall shortly have further 
 information on the subject from Mr. Monk himself. 
 
 In the History and Antiquities of Horsham, by Miss Do- 
 rothea E. Hurst, p. 233, may be found this note : — " The very 
 rare circumstance of a Redwing's nest being found in this 
 country occurred at Warnham, near Horsham, in April 
 1872. It was discovered by Mr. D. M. G. Price, in a low 
 
APPENDIX. 373 
 
 bush overhanging a stream, at the end of Wamham Mill 
 Pond. The bird (well known to him) was on the nest, and 
 flew off when he approached it. The nest had five eggs in it. 
 One of them was shewn to the Naturalist, Mr. Hall, who 
 unhesitatingly pronounced it to be that of the Redwing." 
 As Mr. Hall is now in America, I have had no opportunity 
 of obtaining further information on the subject. 
 
 A Great Bustard was shot on Pett Level on the 6th of 
 January, 1891, by Charles Cooke, and sold by him to Mr. E, 
 Vidler, of Havelock Road, Hastings. It was a female, and 
 in good condition, and weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz,, the crop con- 
 taining dry grass. It is somewhat remarkable that of seven 
 Great Bustards obtained in various counties between the 
 9th of December, 1890, and the 5th of February, 1891, all 
 should have been females. See ' Zoologist,' 1891, pp. 104— 
 105. 
 
 The extremely severe frost of the winter of 1890-91, 
 which, with a very slight break or two, lasted from the 
 beginning of December to the middle of January, though it 
 brought an unusually large number of Ducks and Geese, as 
 well as of the three species of Swan, all along the coast, 
 was not productive of many really rare species. Those 
 principally worthy of notice among this class were a 
 specimen of the Pink-footed Goose, mentioned in the fore- 
 going pages, a considerable number of Smews, a few Shell- 
 Ducks, and a remarkable fine male Goosander, which was 
 shot on the Western Rother in West Harting, and recorded 
 by the Rev. H. D. Gordon in the 'Zoologist,' p. 117, 1891. 
 An unusually large number of the Common Bittern also 
 occurred in various parts of the county, one of which was 
 shot as it rose from a bed of cabbages in the western part of 
 the town of Brighton. A fully mature specimen of the 
 Little Gull was shot at Shoreham. Several Shore Larks 
 were obtained on the coast near Brighton, of which five or 
 six were taken to Messrs. Pratt, who also received five 
 Lapland Buntings and a large number of Snow Buntings and 
 Bramblings. 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES. 
 
 Accentor, Alpine, 50. 
 Auk, Little, 292. 
 Avocet, 213. 
 
 Bee-eater, 170. 
 Bittern, American, 321. 
 
 , Common, 319, 373. 
 
 , Little, 318. 
 
 Blackbird, 48. 
 Blackcap, 73. 
 Bluethroat, 54. 
 BrambUng, 123, 373. 
 BuHflnch, 136. 
 
 , Scarlet, 137. 
 
 Bunting, 118. 
 
 , Black-headed, 121. 
 
 , Oirl, 119. 
 
 , Lapland, 115, 873. 
 
 , Little, 117. 
 
 , Keed, 116. 
 
 , Rustic, 117. 
 
 , Snow, 114, 373. 
 
 , Yellow, 119. 
 
 Bustard, Great, 199, 373. 
 
 , Little, 201. 
 
 Buzzard, Capped, 21. 
 
 , Common, 16. 
 
 , Honey, 19. 
 
 , Moor, 18. 
 
 , Rough-legged, 18. 
 
 Chaffinch, 122. 
 Ohiffchaff, 76. 
 
 Chough, 144. 
 Coot, 196. 
 Cormorant, 304. 
 
 , Green, 306. 
 
 Crake, BaiUon's, 192. 
 
 , Corn, 189. 
 
 , Little, 191. 
 
 , Spotted, 190. 
 
 Crane, 197. 
 Creeper, Tree, 81. 
 CrossbUl, 139. 
 — -, Parrot, 140. 
 Crow, Black, 150. 
 
 , Carrion, 156. 
 
 , Grey, 148. 
 
 , Royston, 150. 
 
 , Saddleback, 150. 
 
 Cuckoo, 151. 
 Curlew, Common, 249. 
 Cm-lew, Stone, 202. 
 
 Daw, 153. 
 Dipper, 43. 
 Diver, Black-throated, 296, 
 
 , Great Northern, 294. 
 
 , Red-throated, 297. 
 
 Dotterel, 203. 
 Dove, Ring, 176. 
 
 , Rock, 178. 
 
 , Stock, 177. 
 
 , Turtle, 179. 
 
 Duck, Casarca, 343. 
 , Oastaneous, 352, 
 
376 
 
 INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES. 
 
 Duck, Common Sbeld, 340. 
 
 , Eider, 359. 
 
 , Ferruginous, 352. 
 
 , Long-tailed, 356. 
 
 , Pintail, 348. 
 
 , Ruddy Sheld, 342. 
 
 , Scaup, 363. 
 
 , Tufted, 354. 
 
 , White-eyed, 352. 
 
 ■ , Wild, 343. 
 
 Dunlin, 229. 
 
 Eagle, Cinereous, 1. 
 
 , Sea, 1. 
 
 , White-tailed, I. 
 
 Elk, 334. 
 
 Falcon, Greenland, 6. 
 
 , Gyr, 5. 
 
 ■ , Peregrine, 7. 
 
 , Red-legged, 10., 
 
 Fieldfare, 46. 
 Finch, Mountain, 123. 
 Flycatcher, Pied, 41. 
 , Spotted, 39, 369. 
 
 Qadwall, 344. 
 Gallinule, Olivaceous, 191. 
 Gannet, 304. 
 Garganey Teal, 348. 
 Godwit, Bar-tailed, 248, 
 
 , Black-tailed, 247. 
 
 Golden-eye, 355. 
 Goldfinch, 130. 
 Goosander, 362, 373. 
 Goose, Bean, 330. 
 
 , Bemicle, 332. 
 
 , Brent, 333. 
 
 , Grey-lag, 328. 
 
 , Laughing, 329. 
 
 , Pink-footed, 331, 373. 
 
 , Solan, 307. 
 
 , White-fronted, 329. 
 
 Grebe, Eared, 301. 
 
 , Great Crested, 297. 
 
 , Little, 302. 
 
 , Red-necked, 298. 
 
 , Sclavonian, 300. 
 
 Greenfinch, 128. 
 Greenshank, 246. 
 Grosbeak, Pine, 138. 
 
 , Scarlet, 137. 
 
 Grouse, Black, 181. 
 
 , Sand, 180. 
 
 Gull, Black-headed, 264. 
 
 , Bonapartian, 262. 
 
 , Common, 266. 
 
 , Glaucous, 270. 
 
 , Great Black-backed, 269. 
 
 , Herring, 267. 
 
 , Iceland, 272. 
 
 , Ivory, 274. . 
 
 , Kittiwaie, 273.. 
 
 , Laughing, 265. 
 
 , Lesser Black-backed, 268. 
 
 , Little, 262, 873. 
 
 , Masked, 265. . 
 
 , Ross's Rosy, 266. 
 
 , Sabine's, 261. 
 
 GuiUemot, Black, 291. 
 
 , Bridled, 289. 
 
 , Common, 289. 
 
 , Ringed, 289.. 
 
 Harrier, Hen, 22. . 
 
 . , Marsh, 21. 
 
 , Montagu's, 25. 
 
 Hawfinch, 126. 
 Hawk, Sparrow, 1?. 
 Hedge-Sparrow, 61. 
 Heron, Common, 307. 
 
 , Night, 317. 
 
 , Purple, 314. 
 
 , Squacpo, 316. 
 
 Hobby, 9, 368. 
 Hoopoe, 168. 
 House-Sparrow, 125, 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES. 
 
 377 
 
 Ibis, Glossy, 324. 
 
 Jay, 155. 
 
 Kestrel, 12. 
 Kingfisher, 171. 
 Kite, 14, 867. 
 Knot, 233.' 
 
 Landrail, 189, 368. 
 Lapwing, 210. 
 Lark, Crested, 111. 
 
 , Shore, 107, 373. 
 
 , Short-toed, 112. 
 
 , Sky, 109. 
 
 , White-winged, 113. 
 
 , Wood, 110. 
 
 Linnet, 134. 
 
 Magpie, 153. 
 Mallard, 343. 
 Martin, 160, 370. . 
 
 , Sand, 161, 370. 
 
 Merganser, Hooded, 363. 
 
 , Red-breasted, 363. 
 
 Merlin, 11. 
 Moorhen, 194. 
 MoriUon, 356. 
 
 Nightingale, 53. 
 Nightjar, 164. 
 Nutcracker, 156. 
 Nuthatch, 82. 
 
 Oriole, Golden, 42, 370. 
 Ortolan, 120. 
 Osprey, 3. 
 Ousel, Ring, 48. 
 
 , Water, 43. 
 
 Owl, Barn (Danish), 34. 
 
 , Brown, 27. 
 
 , Eagle, 31. 
 
 , Little, 33. 
 
 , Long-eared, 29. 
 
 , Scops, 32. 
 
 Owl, Short-eared, 30. 
 
 , Tawny, 27. 
 
 , Wood, 27. 
 
 Oyster-catcher, 212. 
 
 Partridge, Common, 186. 
 
 , French, 187. 
 
 , Red-legged, 187. 
 
 Peewit, 210. 
 
 Petrel, Fork-tailed, 284. 
 
 , Fulmar, 281. 
 
 , Leach's, 284. 
 
 , Storm, 286. 
 
 , Wilson's, 287. 
 
 Phalarope, Grey, 217. 
 
 , Red-necked, 218. 
 
 Pheasant, 182. 
 Pie, 153. 
 
 Pigeon, Wood, 176. 
 Pipit, Meadow, 100. 
 
 , Red-throated, 101. 
 
 , Richard's, 106. 
 
 , Rock, 103. 
 
 , Tawny, 105. 
 
 , Tree, 99. 
 
 , Water, 102. 
 
 Plover, Golden, 207. 
 
 , Green, 210. 
 
 , Grey, 208. 
 
 , Kentish, 209. 
 
 , Little ringed, 206. 
 
 , Ringed, 205. 
 
 Pochard, 350. , 
 
 , Nyroca, 352. 
 
 Puffin, 293. 
 
 Quail, 188. 
 
 Rail, Land, 189, 368. 
 
 , Water, 193. 
 
 Raven, 146. 
 Razor-bill, 288. 
 Redbreast, 52. 
 Redpoll, Lesser, 134, 369. 
 
378 
 
 INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES. 
 
 Redpoll, Mealy, 133. 
 Bedshank, Common, 243. 
 
 , Spotted, 245. 
 
 Redstart, 54, 369. 
 
 , Black, 55. 
 
 Redwing, 46, 372. 
 Ringtail, 23. 
 RoUer, 169, 368, 
 Rook, 151, 
 Ruff, 236. 
 
 Sanderling, 235. 
 Sandpiper, Bartram's, 238. 
 
 , Bonaparte's, 229. 
 
 , Broad-billed, 227. 
 
 ■, Buff-breasted, 235. 
 
 , Common, 239. 
 
 , Curlew, 232. 
 
 , Green, 241. 
 
 , Pectoral, 228. 
 
 , Purple, 233. 
 
 , Schinz, 229. 
 
 , Spotted, 240. 
 
 , Wood, 242. 
 
 Scoter, Common, 360, 
 
 , Velvet, 361. 
 
 Serin, 129. 
 Shag, 306. 
 Shearwater, Manx, 283. 
 
 , Sooty, 282, 
 
 Shoveler, 344. 
 Shrike, Great Grey, 36. 
 
 , Red-backed, 38. 
 
 , Woodohat, 39. 
 
 Siskin, 132, 369. 
 Skua, Arctic, 279. 
 
 , Buffon's, 280, 
 
 , Great, 275. 
 
 , Long-tailed, 280. 
 
 , Pomatorhine, 277. 
 
 , Richardso 's, 279. 
 
 Smew, 364, 372. 
 Snipe, Common, 224. 
 , Great, 222, 368. 
 
 Snipe, Jack, 226. 
 
 , Sabine's, 225. 
 
 , Solitary, 223. 
 
 Spoonbill, White, 326. 
 Starling, 142. 
 
 -, Red-winged, 141. 
 
 , Rose-coloured, 143, 
 
 Stilt, Black-winged, 215, 
 Stint, Little, 230. 
 
 , Temminck's, 231. 
 
 Stonechat, 57. 
 Stork, White, 322. 
 Swallow, 158, 370. 
 Swan, Bewick's, 337. 
 
 , Mute, 338, 
 
 , Whistling, 334. 
 
 Swift, 162,371. 
 , Alpine, 163, 
 
 Teal, 347, 
 
 , Summer, 34i 
 
 Tern, Arctic, 259, 
 
 , Black> 252. 
 
 , Common, 257. 
 
 , GuU-billed, 254. 
 
 , Lesser, 260. 
 
 , Roseate, 257, 
 
 , Sandwich, 256. 
 
 , White-winged Black, 253. 
 
 Thrush, Black-throated, 47. 
 
 , Mistletoe, 44. 
 
 , Song, 45. 
 
 Titmouse, Bearded, 90, 
 
 , Blue, 86. 
 
 , Coal, 87. 
 
 — ., Great, 85, 
 
 , Long-tailed, 89. 
 
 , Marsh, 88, 
 
 Tree-Sparrow, 125, 
 Turnstone, 211, 
 Twite, 135, 
 
 Wagtail, Blue-headed, 96. 
 , Grey, 95, 
 
INDEX OF ENQLISH NAMES. 
 
 379 
 
 Wagtail, Pied, 92. 
 
 , Ray's, 97. 
 
 , White, 93, 
 
 , Yellow, 97. 
 
 Warbler, Aquatic, 67. 
 
 , Dartford, 69. 
 
 •, Garden, 72, 
 
 , Grasshopper, 68. 
 
 , Great Reed, 64. 
 
 , Orphean, 74. 
 
 , Reed, 65. 
 
 , Rufous, 68. 
 
 , Sedge, 66. 
 
 Waxwing, 91, 369. 
 Wheatear, 58. 
 Whimbrel, 251, 
 Whinchat, 67. 
 
 Whitethroat, Common, 70. 
 
 , Lesser, 71, 
 
 Whooper, 334, 
 
 Wigeon, 349. 
 
 Willow Wren, 75. 
 
 Woodchat, 39. 
 
 Woodcock, 219, 372. 
 
 Woodpecker, Greater Spotted, 174. 
 
 , Green, 173. 
 
 , Lesser Spotted, 174. 
 
 Wren, 79. 
 
 , Eire-crested, 77. 
 
 , Golden-crested, 76, 
 
 , Wood, 74. 
 
 Wryneck, 175. 
 
 Yellow-hammer, 119. 
 
SCIENTIFIC INDEX. 
 
 Accentor collaris, 50. 
 
 modularis, 51. 
 
 Accipiter nisiis, 13. 
 Acredula caudata, 89. 
 Acrocephalus arundinaceus, 64. 
 
 nsevius, 68. 
 
 schoenobsenus, 66. 
 
 streperus, 65. 
 
 Aedon galactodes, 63. 
 ^Egialitis cantiana, 207. 
 
 curonica, 206. 
 
 hiaticula, 205. 
 
 Agelseus phoeniceus, 141. 
 Alauda arborea, 110. 
 
 arvensis, 109. 
 
 brachydactyla, 112. 
 
 cristata, 111. 
 
 Alca torda, 288. 
 Alcedo ispida, 171. 
 Aluco flammeus, 34. 
 Ampelis garnilua, 91. 
 Anas boscas, 343. 
 
 • strepera, 344. 
 
 Anser albifrons, 329. 
 
 brachyrhynohus, 331. 
 
 cinereus, 328. 
 
 segetum, 830. 
 
 Anthus cainpestris, 105. 
 
 cervinus, 101. 
 
 obscurus, 103. 
 
 pratensis, 100. 
 
 richardi, 106. 
 
 Anthus spipoletta, 102. 
 
 trivialis, 98i 
 
 Ardea cinerea, 309. 
 
 purpurea, 314. 
 
 ralloides, 315. • 
 
 Ardetta minuta, 318. 
 Asio accipitrinus, 30. 
 otus, 29. 
 
 Bartramia longicauda, 238. 
 Bernicla brenta, 338. 
 
 leucopsis, 832. 
 
 Botaurus lentiginosus, 321. 
 
 stellaris, 319. 
 
 Bubo ignavus, 31. 
 Buteo lagopus, 18. 
 vulgaris, 16. 
 
 Oaccabis rufa, 187. 
 Oalidris arenaria, 235. 
 Oaprimulgus europseus, 164. 
 
 ffigyptius, 166. 
 
 ruficollia, 166. 
 
 Carduelis elegans, 130. 
 
 spinus, 132, 
 
 Oarine nootua, 33. 
 Certhia familiaris, 81. 
 Charadrius pluvialia, 207. 
 Ohelidon iirbica, 160. 
 Cicouia alba, 822. 
 Oinclus aquaticus, 43. 
 Circus asruginosus, 21. 
 
SCIENTIFIC INDEX. 
 
 381 
 
 Circus cinereus, 26. 
 
 cyaneus, 22. 
 
 Clangula glaucion, 365. 
 Coocothraustes chloris, 128. 
 
 vulgaris, 126. 
 
 Columba cenas, 177. 
 
 livia, 178. 
 
 palumbus, 176. 
 
 Colymbus arcticus, 296. 
 
 glacialis, 294. 
 
 septentrionalis, 297. 
 
 Coracias garrulus, 169. 
 Corvus corax, 14G. 
 
 cornix,.148. 
 
 corone, 160. 
 
 frugUegus, 151. 
 
 monedula, 153. 
 
 Cotile riparia, 161. 
 Coturnix communis, 188. 
 Crex pratensia, 189. 
 Cuculus canorus, 166. 
 Cygnus bswicki, 337. 
 
 musicus, 334. 
 
 olor, 338. 
 
 Cynochorea leucorrboa, 284. 
 Oypselus apus, 162. 
 melba, 163. 
 
 Dafila acuta, 340. 
 Daulias luscinia, 53. 
 Dendrocopus major, 174. 
 minor, 174. 
 
 Emberiza cirlus, 119. 
 
 citrinella, 119. 
 
 bortulana, 120. 
 
 miliaria, 118. 
 
 pusilla, 117. 
 
 rustica, 117. 
 
 schoeniclus, 116. 
 
 Erithacus rubecula, 62. 
 Eudromias morinellus, 203. 
 Euspiza melanocephala, 121. 
 
 Falco sesalon, 11. 
 
 candicans, 6. 
 
 gyrfalco, 5. 
 
 — ' — peregrinus, 7. 
 
 subbuteo, 9. 
 
 tinnunculus, 12. 
 
 vespertinus, 10. 
 
 Fratercula arctica, 293. 
 Fringilla coelebs, 122. 
 
 montifringilla, 123. 
 
 Fulica atra, 196. 
 Fuligula cristata, 354. 
 
 ferina, 360. 
 
 marila, 355. 
 
 nyroca, 352. 
 
 Fulmarus glacialis, 281. 
 
 Gallinago coelestis, 224. 
 
 gallinula, 226. 
 
 major, 222. 
 
 Gallinula cbloropus, 194. 
 Garrulus glandarius, 155. 
 Gecinus viridis, 173. 
 Grus communis, 197. 
 
 Hsematopus ostralegus, 212. 
 Haliseetus albicilla, 1. 
 Harelda glaciali.s. So 7. 
 Himantopus candidus, 215. 
 Hirundo rustica, 158. 
 Hydrochelidon leucoptera, 2-J: 
 nigra, 252. 
 
 lynx torqmlla, 175. 
 
 Lanius auriculatus, 39. 
 
 ■ coUurio, 38. 
 
 excubitor, 36. 
 
 Larus argentatus, 267. 
 
 atriciUa, 266. 
 
 canus, 266. 
 
 capistratus, 265. 
 
 . fuscus, 268. 
 
 glaucus, 270. 
 
382 
 
 SCIENTIFIC INDEX. 
 
 Larus leucopterus, 272. 
 
 marinus, 269. 
 
 luinutus, 262. 
 
 Philadelphia, 262. 
 
 ridibimdus, 264. 
 
 rhodostethia, 266. 
 
 Limicola platyrhynoha, 227. 
 Limosa segocephala, 247. 
 
 lapponica, 248. 
 
 Iiinota cannabina, 134. 
 
 flavirostris, 136. 
 
 linaria, 133. 
 
 rufescens, 134. 
 
 Loxia curvirostra, 139. 
 pityopsittacus, 140. 
 
 Machetes pugnax, 286. 
 Mareca penelope, 349. 
 Melanocorypha sibirica, 113. 
 Melizophilus undatiis, 69. 
 MergiJus alle, 292. 
 Mergus albellus, 364. 
 
 merganser, 362. 
 
 serrator, 363. 
 
 Merops apiaster, 170. 
 Milvus ictinus, 14. 
 Motacilla alba, 93. 
 
 flava, 96. 
 
 lugubris, 92. 
 
 raii, 97. 
 
 sulphurea, 95. 
 
 Muscicapa atricapUla, 41. 
 grisola, 39. 
 
 Nucifraga caryocataotes, 150. 
 Numenius arquata, 249. 
 
 pheeopus, 251. 
 
 Nycticorax griseus, 317. 
 
 Ooeanites oceanioa, 287. 
 CEdemia fusca, 361. 
 
 nigra, 360. 
 
 CBdicnemua scolopax, 202. 
 Oriolus galbula, 42. 
 
 Otis tarda, 199. 
 
 tetrax, 201 . 
 
 Otocorys alpestris, 107. 
 
 PagopHila eburnea, 274. 
 Pandion haliasetus, 8. 
 Panunis biarmicus, 90. 
 Panis ater, 87. 
 
 cseruleus, 86. 
 
 major, 85. 
 
 palustris, 88. 
 
 Passer domesticus, 125. 
 
 montanus, 125. 
 
 Pastor roseus, 143. 
 Perdix cinerea, 186. 
 Pernis apivorus, 19. 
 Phalacrocorax carbo, 304. 
 
 graculus, 306. 
 
 Phalaropus fulicarius, 217. 
 
 hyperboreus, 218. 
 
 Phasianus colchicift, 183. 
 Phylloscopus colly bita, 76. 
 
 sibilatrix, 74. 
 
 trochilus, 76. 
 
 Pica rustica, 163. 
 Platalea leucorodia, 326. 
 Plectrophanes lapponica, 115. 
 
 nivalis, 114. 
 
 Plegadis falcinellus, 324. 
 Podiceps auritus, 300. 
 
 cristatus, 297. 
 
 fluviatilis, 302. 
 
 griseigena, 298. 
 
 nigricoUis, 391. 
 
 Porzana bailloni, 192. 
 
 maruetta, 190. 
 
 parva, 191. 
 
 ProoeEaria pelagica, 286. 
 Puffinus anglorum, 288. 
 
 griseus, 282. 
 
 Pyrrhooorax graculus, 144. 
 Pyrrhula enucleator, 138. 
 
 erythrina, 137. 
 
 eui'opesa, 136. 
 
SCIENTIFIC INDEX. 
 
 383 
 
 Querquedula circia, 348. 
 crecca, 347. 
 
 Rallus aquaticus, 193. 
 Recurvirostra avocetta, 213. 
 Regulus cristatus, 76. 
 
 ignicapillus, 77. 
 
 Rissa tridactyla, 273. 
 Ruticilla phoenicurus, 54. 
 
 suecica, 54. 
 
 titys, 55. 
 
 Saxicola cenanthe, 58. 
 
 ruWcola, 57. 
 
 Scolopax ccelestis, 224. 1 
 
 gallinulaj 226. 
 
 rusticula, 219. 
 
 Scops giu, 32. 
 
 Serinua hortulaaus, 129. 
 
 Sitta cassia, 82. 
 
 Somateria mollissima, 358. 
 
 Spatula clypeata, 344. 
 
 S(luatai'ola helvetica, 208. 
 
 Stercorarius catarrhactes, 276. 
 
 crepidatus, 279. 
 
 parasiticus, 280. 
 
 pomatorhinus, 277. 
 
 Sterna anglica, 254. 
 
 cantiaca, 256. 
 
 dougalli, 257. 
 
 fluviatilis, 267. 
 
 macrura, 259. 
 
 minuta, 260. 
 
 Strepsilas interpres, 211. 
 Strix aluco, 27. 
 Sturnus vulgaris, 142. 
 Sula bassana, 307. 
 Sylvia aquatica, 67. 
 
 atricapilla, 73. 
 
 ciirruca, 71. 
 
 orphea, 74. 
 
 Sylvia rufa, 70. 
 
 salicaria, 72. 
 
 Syrrhaptes paradoxus, 180. 
 
 Tadorna casarca, 342. 
 
 cornuta, 340. 
 
 Tetrao tetrax, 181. 
 Totanus caMris, 243. 
 
 canescens, 246. 
 
 ■ fuscus, 245. 
 
 glareola, 242. 
 
 hypoleucus, 239. 
 
 ■ macularius, 240. 
 
 ochropus, 241. 
 
 Tringa alpina, 229. 
 
 canutus, 233. 
 
 fuscicollis, 229. 
 
 minuta, 230. 
 
 maculata, 228. 
 
 striata, 233. 
 
 subarquata, 232. 
 
 temmincki, 231. 
 
 Troglodytes parvulus, 79. 
 Tryngites rufescens, 237. 
 Turdus atrogularis, 47. 
 
 iliacus, 46. 
 
 merula, 48. 
 
 musicus, 45. 
 
 pilaris, 46. 
 
 torquatus, 48. 
 
 viscivorus, 44. 
 
 Turtur communis, 179. 
 
 Upupa epops, 168. 
 Uria grylle, 291. 
 troile, 289. 
 
 VaneUus vulgaris, 210. 
 
 Xema sabini, 261. 
 
POPULAR NAMES USED IN SUSSEX. 
 
 Barley Bird, 98. 
 Barley-ear, 58. 
 Bar Gander, 340. 
 Bier Gander, 340. 
 Billy Biter, 86. 
 Blackcock, 181. 
 Black Duck, 360. 
 Broadbill, 344. 
 Burrow Duck, 340. 
 Busli Magpie, 154. 
 Butcher Bird, 36. 
 
 Oheveril, 131. 
 CheYil, 131. 
 Clod Bird, 119. 
 Cob, 287. 
 
 Corn Bunting (Bunting), 119. 
 Coulterneb, 293. 
 Cuckoo's Mate, 176. 
 Curlew, Pigmy (Curlew Sandpiper), 
 352. 
 
 Dabchlck, 302. 
 Dish-washer, 93. 
 
 Evejar (Nightjar), 164. 
 
 Fanner, IS. 
 Feather-poke, 88. 
 Felt, Pigeon Felt, 47. 
 
 Fern Owl, 155. , 
 Fire-tail (Kedstart), 54, 
 Furzechat, 58. 
 
 Glead, 15, 
 Goatsucker, 155. 
 Grey Bird, 46. 
 Grey Hen, 181. . 
 Grey Partridge, 188. 
 Grey pate, 131. 
 Ground Tit, 88. 
 
 Hedgepick, .31. 
 Holm Thrush, 144. 
 
 Isle of Wight Parson, 304. 
 
 Jackdaw, 153, 
 
 Jack hern (Common Heron), 800. 
 
 Magpie Diver, 256. 
 Mole-Diver, 302. 
 Mother Carey's Chicken, 28(). 
 Mountain Linnet, 135 
 
 Nettlecreeper, 71. 
 Night-Hawk (Nightjar), 164. 
 
 Olive, 212. 
 Oven Bird, 74, 
 
POPULAR NAMES USED IN SUSSEX. 
 
 385 
 
 Oxbird, 229. 
 
 Oxeye (Great Tit), 86 
 
 Peel Bird, 176. 
 Purre, 229. 
 Puttook, 17. 
 
 Rain Bird, 173. 
 Redlegs, 243. 
 Red-legged Crow, 145. 
 Reed Sparrow, 117. 
 Reeve, 237. 
 Rinding Bird, 175. 
 Robin, 52. 
 
 Scarlet Bullfinch, 137. 
 Scart, 306. 
 Screech, 44. 
 Sear-pie, 212. 
 Sea Swallow, 257, 259. 
 Shufflewing, 51. 
 Sin^ng Titlark, 99. 
 
 Snake Bu:d, 176. 
 Spear Duck, 363. 
 Spoonbill Duck, 344. 
 Stonechucker, 58. 
 Stone Redpoll, 133. 
 Storm Cook, 44. 
 Summer Snipe, 239. 
 
 Tinkershere, 288. 
 Titterel, 251. 
 Titlark, 100. 
 
 Vine Bird (Flycatcher), 39. 
 
 Wagell, 257. 
 Wagtail, 231-239. 
 Willock, 288. 
 Windfanner, 13. 
 Windhover Hawk, 13. 
 
 Yaffil, 173. 
 
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