4782 THE ZooLoGiIst—FEeBRuUARY, 1876. 
of official obstructiveness. I am glad, however, that many of the 
birds have been saved from the destruction that seemed at one 
time to threaten them. The other collections, especially that of 
local shells, are being put into a little better order; and there are 
rumours that when the new Market-place, now building, is finished, 
a proper room or rooms will be provided for the Museum, and that 
the trustees intend to bestir themselves, and have the whole of the 
collections in the Museum properly arranged. 
Are Guernsey Birds British 2—A question arose some time ago 
in the ‘ Zoologist,” which was discussed in several numbers, Are 
Guernsey birds British ? A good deal was said as to geographical 
position, proximity to the coast of France, the probability of 
fraudulent dealers picking up foreign skins and selling them at high 
prices, and other matters, but I do not remember that much was 
said as to the birds themselves; so perhaps, though [ do not wish 
again to raise the discussion, you will allow me to say a few words 
as to the birds themselves, and these seem to me to be essentially 
British. In fact, 1 have always found much the same birds, and 
in the same average numbers, as on the south coast of Devon. 
Tithys redstart, snow bunting, goosander, redbreasted merganser, 
grebes, &c., seem to make their appearance much about the same 
time and in much the same numbers. Occasional stragglers, such 
as hoopoes, golden orioles and rosecoloured pastors certainly do 
not appear more frequently or stay longer than in the South of 
England. Motacilla lugubris, and not M. alba, is the common 
wagtail, though 1 have no doubt the latter is to be found. The 
only bird I have found rather more common than on the Devon 
coast is the Kentish plover, but it is by no means more common 
than in other parts of the English coast. By-the-bye, I have 
always considered this bird only a summer visitant to the islands, 
and probably breeding there, as I shot a pair in Guernsey on the 
2nd of July, and saw others in Alderney about the same time; but I 
have never shot or seen one in my autumnal visits about November, 
yet I see Mr. Harvie Brown mentions having seen them at Herm 
in January feeding with the ring dotterel: he does not appear, 
however, to have shot one. Some other birds, such as the slender- 
billed curlew, marsh sandpiper, Nyroca pochard, and others men- 
tioned by Degland and Gerbe as more or less regular visitants to 
Normandy and Picardy, and other parts of the North of France are 
either not found at all or are extremely rare in Guetnsey and the 
ee 
