156 BIRDS OF GUERNSEY. 



moth-eaten, and consequently thrown away, or lost 

 when the Museum changed its quarters across the 

 market-place. Mr. MacCulloch does not seem to 

 consider the Spoonbill such a very rare visitant to 

 the Channel Islands, as he writer to me, "The 

 Spoonbill is not near so rare a visitor as you seem 

 to think ; specimens were killed here in 1844, and 

 in previous years, and again in 1849, and in 

 October, 1873.* They are seldom solitary, but 

 generally appear in small flocks. I forget whether 

 it was in 1844 or 1849 that flocks were reported to 

 have been seen in various parts of England, even 

 as far west as Penzance. I think that in one of 

 these years as many as a dozen were seen here 

 in a flock." Mr. Eodd, in his ' List of the Birds of 

 Cornwall,' does not mention either of these years 

 as great years for Spoonbills, only saying, 

 " Occasionally, and especially of late years, ob- 

 served in various parts of the county ; a flock of 

 several was seen and captured at Gwithian ; others 

 have been obtained from the neighbourhood of 

 Penzance, and also from Scilly." t 



The Spoonbill is included in Professor Ansted's 

 list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey. There 

 is no specimen at present in the Museum, the one 

 stuffed by Miss Cumber having, as above men- 

 tioned, disappeared. 



* The one above mentioned. 



f See ' Zoologist' for 1870, p. 2244. 



