SOME SOUTHERN CLIFFS. IOI 
and I was almost dumbfounded to behold three precisely similar specimens! 
Had they seen the bird, was my prompt enquiry? ‘Yes; they had put it 
out of a hole in the cliff; black, with red legs and red beak.’ It seemed a 
clear case on the face of it, but I was eager to see for myself. Some days 
later I set out, but, though I walked to Birling Gap and scanned every sable 
form with the utmost care, there were no signs of a red beak, and I returned 
very much disappointed from my quest. Another visit was equally futile. A 
dense sea-fog came on, and though we went some way beyond Birling Gap 
we could not find a Chough. We came back along the top of the cliff, and 
there were dozens of Jackdaws feeding on the turf, but the fog prevented any 
comprehensive view, and was, generally speaking, so deceptive that the 
flocks—I was going to say herds—of Gulls seated on the grass looked almost 
as big as Geese; indeed, the mist was so solid that on a black coat it showed 
up white like hoar-frost. The eggs were then submitted to the scrutiny of 
the College Natural History Society, and the discussion that followed left us 
just as wise as we were before, the finder still grimly sticking to his red beak. 
Alas for juvenile confidence! When at length I got the chance of visiting 
the South Kensington Museum, our hopes were soon laid to rest. I found two 
Jackdaw’s eggs exactly like ours, while the Chough’s had a still lighter ground 
and much heavier blotches. So much for our attempt to resuscitate the Chough 
as a Sussex breeding species. Not that I have quite given up hope even now. 
I am informed by Mr. Bates that in December, 1905, a Chough was certainly 
seen on Pevensey Marsh. It was in the company of, or rather being mobbed 
by, some Rooks, a fact which first drew attention to its presence. The red 
beak and legs were then observed. Can it be that the Chough is now so 
utterly forgotten by the local Corvide that, when one does turn up amongst 
them, it is regarded as a monstrosity, and forthwith attacked as such ? 
