BIRDS 



284. Common Guillemot. Uria troile 



(Linn.) 

 Common and resident like the last named 

 species. Only a few pairs of guillemots now 

 breed on Beachy Head. 



285. Black Guillemot. Uria grylle (Linn.) 

 A rare winter straggler. 



286. Little Auk. Mcrgulus alle (Linn.) 

 Sometimes a considerable number of little 



auks find their way to the south coast and 

 are picked up dead on the seashore. Al- 

 though I have not seen the subject men- 

 tioned elsewhere, I feel sure that the great 

 number of little auks which in severe winters 

 are driven south to the Orkneys and Shet- 

 lands never return to northern latitudes. I 

 remember once seeing over one hundred 

 little auks in one bay on the south coast 

 of Pomona, and the following week the 

 majority of them were lying on the beach. 

 Tlie cause of this mortality is probably due 

 to the difficulty of obtaining food after a long 

 storm-tossed voyage in deep water. 



increase throughout south and central Eng- 

 land, but Sussex is not one of its favourite 

 counties as a breeding resort, and so far there 

 is no record of its nest being taken within 

 the county. The species is a regular winter 

 visitor to the coast, and it is occasionally seen 

 on such favourite sheets of water as Burton, 

 Knepp and Warnham Poiul. 



292 



Red-necked Grebe. 

 (Boddaert). 

 A rare winter visitor. 



Podkipe^ gr 



287. Puffin. Fratercula arctica (Linn.) 



Adult puffins are not often seen off the 

 Sussex coast, and those that are noticed are 

 probably far going fishers from the Isle of local gunners. 

 Wight, where a few breed. Many imma- 

 tures are washed ashore in the autumn, and 

 like the little auk the puffin is occasionally 

 blown inland. 



293. Slavonian Grebe. Poilicipes auritui 



(Linn.) 

 A regular winter visitor, leaving the coast 

 in March. 



294. Eared Grebe. Podiclpes nlgncoUii 



(Brehm.) 

 By far the rarest of the grebes that come 

 to visit us. The late Mr. Borrer was for- 

 tunate enough to secure an adult in full 

 summer plumage on the Salts Farm near 

 Lancing in April, 1854. Mr. Booth too 

 tells us that on December lo, 1879, he 

 obtained specimens of this grebe between 

 Worthing and Shoreham, and adds that 

 others have been obtained of late years by 



288. Great Northern Diver. Colymbus glac- 



ia/is, Linn. 

 There is a regular spring visitation of the 

 adult great northern diver to the sea off the 

 Sussex shores. Most of these however pass 

 on early in May. In the winter again 

 young birds come and stay from October 

 till March. 



289. Black-throated Diver. Co/ym/'us arcticus, 



Linn. 

 The rarest of the three divers, occurring 

 generally in the immature state. Adults in 

 full summer plumage have been taken in 

 spring (Borrer). 



290. Red-throated Diver. Colymbus septen- 



triona/is, Linn. 

 Abundant throughout the winter and 

 departing in April. A few however stay 

 throughout the year. 



291. Great Crested Grebe. Podiclpes cristatus 



(Linn.) 

 This beautiful bird is now steadily on the 



295. Little Grebe. Podicipes fuviatilis (Tun- 

 stall). 

 Locally (at Rye), Spider Diver. 

 A common resident. 



296. 



btor 

 Li 



■Petrel. Procellaria pelagica. 



At times considerable numbers of this 

 little petrel are seen in the Channel gene- 

 rally far from land. 



297. 



Fork-tailed Petrel. Oceanodroma leu- 

 corrhoa (Vieillot). 

 Occasionally examples of this species are 

 driven ashore and picked up after winter 



gales. 



298. Wilson's Petrel. Oceanites oceanicus 



(Kuhl). 

 Mr. Borrer has recorded {Zoologist, p. 148) 

 the only occurrence of this rare petrel on the 

 Sussex coast. 



299. Sooty Shearwater. Puffinus griscus (J. 



F. Gmelin). 

 It seems a curious fact that this shear- 

 water, which is not known to breed north 

 of New Zealand, should come all the way 

 •7 38 



