BIRDS 



Hon. Grantley Berkeley, who in turn pre- 

 sented it to Mr. Hart for his museum at 

 Christchurch, where I have seen it. Mr. M. 

 J. Nicoll informs me that two immatures were 

 shot at Pett on October i6 and 25, 1 901. 



There is a fine specimen of this heron in 

 the late Mr. Borrer's house, and in a collec- 

 tion so strictly British and so carefully kept it 

 is somewhat remarkable to find no label at- 

 tached or reference to it in his book. 



156. Night-Heron. Nyctico)-nx griseus {Linn.) 

 Two examples of the night heron are re- 

 corded as having occurred in Sussex — one at 

 Alfriston, November, 1839 (Borrer), and 

 another at Cuckmere Haven, 1851 (Knox). 



157. Little Bittern. Jrdetta minuta (Linn.) 

 A rare summer visitor. Of recent occur- 

 rences one was obtained at Hove, September, 

 1894, and is now in the Booth Museum. 

 Another, an adult female, which I examined 

 in the flesh, was found dead near Billingshurst 

 May 6, 1 90 1. I also have two in my collec- 

 tion that were obtained near Petworth in the 

 spring of 1889. 



158. Common Bittern. Botaurus stel/aris 

 (Linn.) 



A few bitterns still come to us regularly 

 every winter. Formerly it used to breed in 

 some numbers in the great marsh known as 

 the Wildbrook that existed near Amberley 

 and is now drained. 



159. American Bittern. Botaurus lentigimsus 

 (Montagu). 



Has twice occurred in the county. One of 

 these, a fine adult, was killed on November 

 30, 1879, in the Amberley Wildbrook, and is 

 now preserved in the collection of the late 

 Mr. William Borrer. 



160. White Stork. Ciconia alba, Bechstein. 

 A rare visitor, which has occurred on several 



occasions in spring and autumn. The latest 

 capture is that of an adult male taken on 

 Broadwater Down, August, 1899. 



161. Glossy Ibis. Plegadis falcinellm (Linn.) 

 There is a fine adult specimen of the glossy 



ibis in the late Mr. Borrer's collection which 

 was shot at Piddinghoe near Newhaven on 

 May 25, 1850. The species is only a rare 

 straggler from south-eastern Europe and has 

 occurred in the county but three times. 



162. Spoonbill. Plataka leucorodia, Linn. 

 Mr. J. E. Harting has shown that the 



spoonbill formerly nested in Sussex at Eskden 

 near Goodwood ; now it is only a rare spring 



and autumn visitor, having occurred within 

 the county on about twenty occasions. 



163. Grey Lag-Goose. Amer cinereus^Vltycr. 

 A rare winter visitor. 



164. White-fronted Goose. Anser alhifrom 

 (Scopoli). 



With the brent the most common of the 

 wild geese that visit the Channel during the 

 winter. Within the memory of man this 

 goose was quite common in winter time on 

 the marshes of Pevensey Level. 



165. Bean - Goose. Anser segetum (J. F. 

 Gmelin). 



An irregular winter visitor, sometimes 

 passing in big flocks. 



166. Pink-footed Goose. Anser brachyrhyn- 

 chus, Baillon. 



Although this goose is considered very rare 

 within the county, a fact to a certain extent 

 borne out by there being no Sussex specimens 

 in the late Mr. Borrer's collection, yet I can- 

 not believe that it does not visit us with the 

 big packs of passing bean-geese and grey lags. 

 In Scotland, where I have had a close ac- 

 quaintance for many years with all the fore- 

 going species of wild geese, I have invariably 

 found that the pink-foot is by far the com- 

 monest, and whilst keeping for the most part 

 in flocks of their own kind they unite for 

 safety in one great flock with both grey lags 

 and bean-geese. When therefore the two 

 last species move south through stress of 

 weather or other causes it is more than likely 

 that a certain number of the pink-foots go with 

 them. Certainly this is the case in Norfolk, 

 where the present species is common through- 

 out the winter, so that it is more likely that 

 the species has been overlooked than that it 

 is of uncommon rarity. 



167. Barnacle - Goose. Bernic/a leucopsis 

 (Bechstein). 



A rare winter straggler. 



168. Brent Goose. Bernlcla brenta (Pallas). 

 The ' black ' goose is certainly the com- 

 monest of the genus that visits us in winter, 

 sometimes appearing in considerable packs 

 where the Zostera marina, their favourite food, 

 grows. It is however not nearly so abundant 

 as formerly. On the south coast of England 

 the ' black ' form of this goose is practically 

 the only form, whereas in the north of Scot- 

 land when out shooting with the big gun I 

 have generally killed equal proportions of the 

 * black ' and the ' white * form. The dark 

 birds are all supposed to come from the north- 



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