576 BRITISH BIRDS. 



PYRRHOCORAX GRACULUS. 

 THE CHOUGH. 



(PLATE 16.) 



Coracia coracia, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 3 (1760), 



Corvus graculus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 158 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum 



Schkgel, {Bonaparte), (Cabanis), (Fritsch), (Heugliri), (Sharpe), (Dresser), &c. 

 Corvus eremita, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 159 (1766). 

 Gracula pyrrhocorax, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 42 (1769, nee Linn.'}. 

 Coracias montana, Gerini, Orn.Meth. Dig. ii. p. 38, pi. clii. (1769). 

 Pyrrhocorax graculus (Linn.), Tunst. Orn. Brit. p. 2 (1771). 

 Corvus docilis, Gmel. Reis. Russl. iii. p. 365, pi. 39 (1774). 

 Graculus eremita (Linn.), Koch } Syst. baier. Zool. i. p. 91 (1816). 

 Fregilus graculus (Linn.), Cuv. Regne An. i. p. 406 (1817). 

 Coracias erythroramphos, Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. viii. p. 2 (1817). 

 Fregilus europseus, Less. Traite,^. 324 (1831). 

 Fregilus erythropus, Swains. Classif. B. ii. p. 268 (1837). 

 Coracias gracula (Linn), Gray, Gen. B. ii. p. 321 (1846). 

 Fregilus graculus, var. orientalis, Dybowski, Journ. Orn. 1868, p. 332. 

 Fregilus graculus, var. brachypus, Swinh. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, p. 383. 



The Chough is another of those birds that are becoming rarer in our 

 islands from no apparent cause. The encroachment of man, as Mr. Gray 

 justly remarks, can scarcely be a reason for its disappearance ; for the 

 bird's haunts are practically inaccessible and are usually places far 

 removed from his industries. It is, however, worthy of note that most 

 observers agree that the Chough's decrease has been marked by an increase 

 of another rock-bird, the Jackdaw ; but whether this be merely a coinci- 

 dence, or an instance of the weak being driven off and replaced by the 

 strong, is a matter for investigation. Formerly the Chough bred in many 

 inland localities in England ; but now it is only known to frequent a few 

 favoured spots on the coast. Years ago the bird bred on almost all the 

 suitable cliffs of the south coast ; but at the present day most of its breed- 

 ing-stations are deserted. It still breeds in Cornwall, the north of Devon, 

 on Lundy Island, and at many places on the Welsh coast, in Glamor- 

 gan, Pembroke, Anglesey, Flint, Denbigh, and possibly on the rocks 

 of the Calf of Man. On the east coast of England, More states (' Ibis/ 

 1865, p. 132) that a few pairs were known to nest near Fast Castle in 

 Berwickshire, and Hancock corroborates the statement, whilst in the 

 Channel Islands the bird, although local, still breeds. In Scotland it 

 appears to have been much commoner quite recently than at the present 



