1920.] 



REPORTS. 239 



Chiff-chaff.— March 18th, St. Martin's, Mr. Kowswell ; October 13th, St. 

 Martin's, Mr. Rowswell. Throughout September and in the early part of 

 October this little bird was heard almost daily — certainly much more fre- 

 quently than is usually the case at the end of the season. 



Wheatear. — April 5th, St. Saviour's, Mr. Kowswell ; October 12th, L'An- 

 cresse, Mr. Rowswell. I was on Lihou Island on August 20th, and saw 

 several wheatears there. Mr. Saumarez Le Cocq saw one at Alderney on 

 June 3rd. 



Wryneck.— March 29th. Torteval, Rev. R. H. Tourtel ; July 26th, Torteval, 

 Rev. R. H. Tourtel. I did not hear the bird before April 17th, nor after 

 July 5th. I am inclined to believe that in the last few years the wryneck 

 has been heard less at St. Martin's than formerly. Both of Mr. Tourtel'e 

 dates are interesting. It is quite unusual to hear this migrant in March, 

 and as regards his last date for hearing the bird it is almost a record, one 

 only later date appearing in the Transactions, viz., July 30th, in 1908. 

 (Hocart, Vale.) 



Cuckoo.— April 9th, Havilland Hall farm, Mr. S. M. Henry. (By the 18th 

 the bird was being heard everywhere). July 5th, St. Martin's, Mr. 

 Rowswell. At ALDERNEY the date of arrival for that island was given 

 in the Evening Press as the 10th. Without doubt the cuckoo, as well as the 

 wryneck, made a very early appearance this spring. My own notes, 

 which cover a period of 32 years, contain but one earlier date for the 

 bird's arrival. This was in 1894, when I heard the call at Les Blanches 

 on the 7th of April. 



Swallow.— April 11th, L'Ancresse Common, Mies K. Tardif ; October 28th, 

 St. Martin's, Miss K. Tardif. It was not until May was in that other than 

 stragglers were observed. After this they gradually increased in num- 

 bers, but all through the season were never numerous, and they left us 

 in the autumn at an early date. By the middle of September only 

 stragglers remained behind despite a delightful extension of summer 

 weather which continued all through October, and on one day only were 

 any seen after October 14th, viz., on the 28th as noted above. This seems 

 to suggest that the big movements are not influenced by the weather 

 actually prevailing. On October 8th Miss Tardif saw a big flock on 

 migration from farther north, which she estimated at about 200 in 

 number, flying over Jerbourg, St. Martin's. In her own words "All the 

 afternoon they hawked to and fro, high up in the tranquil, misty air, and 

 though nearly invisible, their twittering was plainly audible down below. 

 On the approach of dusk, at some given signal, unseen and unheard by 

 the watcher, they closed up their ranks and, flying in compact formation, 

 made off towards the south-west." 



Swift. — April 27th, Town church tower, Mr. Rowswell ; September 1st, Les 

 Damouettes, Mr. Rowswell. Swifts were not late in arriving in the 

 islands, nor have their numbers decreased as in the case of the swallow. 

 Very pleasant it is to stand and watch a large flock of swifts hawk over 

 a field of grass being laid low by the mowing machine. Drawn to the 

 spot from far and near by the prospect of food, their graceful serial 

 evolutions at a low level — a level so low as to bring the whizzing made 

 by their rapid movements through the air within sound of the watcher — 

 are full of more than ordinary interest to the lover of birds and their 

 ways. 



Corncrake.— May, 20th, Cobo, Mr. C. O. de la Mare; July 8th, Les 

 Bemonts, St. Andrew's, Mr. E. Rammell. It is interesting to be able to 

 record that this bird still visits us, although, apparently, in very small 

 numbers. On June 6th I heard one from the garden at Les Blanches. 



Yellow ammer. — The yellow ammer has been much in evidence this 

 summer. My notes on this bird, which begin with May 24th, when I 

 heard the plaintive reedy note near the Mont Varouf, St. Saviour's, and 



