A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



99. Chough. Pyrrhocorax graculus (Linn.) 

 In the Marlcwick MS., written in the first 

 years of the nineteenth century, that observer 

 says, 'I have seen them (choughs) at Beachy 

 Head near Eastbourne,' and he further infers 

 that they w^ere breeding there at that time. 

 Also Gilbert White states that they were 

 breeding there in 1773. They seem to have 

 nested on Beachy Head till 1821, after which 

 date they appear to have soon become extinct. 



100. Nutcracker. Nucifraga caryocatactes 



(Linn.) 

 The first Sussex example of the nutcracker 

 was shot on September 26, 1844, at Littling- 

 ton. It was an adult bird, though the sex was 

 not ascertained (Borrer). A second was shot 

 near Chichester November 3, 1893 {Zoologist, 

 ser. 3, p. 310), and a third is recorded by the 

 Rev. Marmaduke Langdale. This specimen 

 was shot at Chilgrove by Mr. J. Woods on 

 December 21, 1900. All the above speci- 

 mens are assignable to the thin-billed Siberian 

 form. 



101. Jay. Ganu/us g/andarius [hinn.) 

 Common and certainly not decreasing, in 



spite of the war waged against the species. 



102. Magpie. Pica rustica (Scopoli). 

 Now a scarce bird. 



103. Jackdaw. Corvus monedula, Linn. 

 Abundant everywhere. 



104. Raven. Corvus cor ax, Linn. 



There is little doubt that a pair or more of 

 ravens still nest annually on the chalk cliffs 

 bordering the Channel, but as a breeding 

 species in the interior of the county it has 

 disappeared. Formerly ravens nested annu- 

 ally until 1840 at Hurstpierpoint, but forsook 

 this place for a clump of firs on the South 

 Downs near Wolstanbury Hill, where they 

 were subjected to constant persecution and so 

 soon left the neighbourhood. They also 

 nested irregularly at both Burton and Parham, 

 as well as at Petworth in the high mound 

 covered with firs which stands in the middle 

 of the park. Knox records their breeding 

 there in 1843 ^"'^ '844, and the late Bishop 

 Wilberforce, writing in September, 1849, in 

 the Quarterly Review, says that the ravens had 

 again returned to their old nesting site at 

 Petworth but left it again without rearing 

 their young. Since that date there is no 

 record of the ravens having returned to Pet- 

 worth, and on a recent visit the keeper told 

 me that the two trees in which they used to 

 nest had both been blown down. I saw a 



pair of ravens flying high over the beach at 

 Shoreham in the spring of 1896. 



105. Carrion-Crow. Corvus corone, Linn. 

 Now somewhat scarce owing to constant 



persecution. Mr. Butterfield says that the 

 carrion-crow has almost completely disap- 

 peared from east Sussex. 



106. Hooded Crow. Corvus comix, L,'mn. 

 A regular winter visitor, being particularly 



common near the coast. 



107. Rook. Corvus frugilegus, Linn. 



The rook seems to be increasing in Sussex. 

 Certainly there are more rookeries in the 

 western portion of the county than formerly, 

 whilst few of the old haunts are deserted. In 

 the south of England it is now not uncommon 

 to notice that certain rooks from every rookery 

 have become more or less carnivorous as well 

 as adept egg-stealers. These birds with 

 ' criminal ' instinct are not numerous as yet 

 in the south of England, although persistent 

 young bird-slayers and egg-stealers have long 

 been recognized in Scotland, and so the 

 depredations of one or two individuals, who in 

 the summer time prefer a flesh and egg diet, 

 are generally attributed to the whole com- 

 munity. One particular rook from Horsham 

 Park used regularly to hunt every morning in 

 May and June for two years all the small 

 gardens near my house, and I believe that he 

 entirely cleared the place of small birds' eggs, 

 except when the owners had built in very 

 dense undergrowth. A common lark which 

 built its nest within fifteen feet of my dining- 

 room window was robbed of her treasures, and 

 on again laying in the same nest was sub- 

 jected to a second visitation. So cunning 

 was this particular marauder that I never once 

 obtained a shot at him, although twice I wit- 

 nessed his depredations. Rooks frequently 

 retain the feathered nostril until the second 

 year, and breed in what was formerly con- 

 sidered to be an immature plumage. 



108. Sky-Lark. Alauda arvensis, Linn. 

 Abundant, especially in winter, when im- 

 mense numbers come in from the north. 



109. Wood-Lark. Alauda arhorea, Linn. 



A rare bird in Sussex, but resident in a few 

 places. Sometimes it occurs in small flocks 

 in the winter. 



no. Crested Lark. Alauda cristata, Linn. 



A rare autumn visitor which has occurred 

 three times within the county (Borrer). Be- 

 sides these examples, I have in my collection 



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