BIRDS OF ALDERNEY. 239 



White-tailed or Sea Eagle. — Two specimens were shot during the autumn 

 of 1899. The first, killed on the islet of Burhou about the beginning 

 of November, measured 7 feet 5 inches across the wings. The second 

 specimen was shot in Alderney during the first week in December, and 

 is said to have measured 8 feet in expanse. In both cases the birds were 

 seen flying about for some days before they were killed. 



Hen Harrier.— On the 4th July, 1902, I had a good view of a fine male 

 Hen Harrier. The bird rose within 40 yards of where I stood, on the 

 moor between the old Telegraph Tower and Trois Vaux, and as it flew 

 away from me I thought at first it was a Heron, but when it turned I per- 

 ceived at once that it was one of the Falcons. I again saw the same bird 

 (or perhaps another) the following year on the Clanque Cliffs, on June 3rd, 

 1903. Cecil Smith says he never saw the Hen Harrier alive in the 

 Channel Islands. 



Barn Owl. — I have once or twice seen this bird flying at dusk, and on 

 August 9th, 1901, some boys found a wounded specimen on the sea- 

 shore, and killed it, after which I saw it in their possession. 



Red-baeked Shrike. — Although I never actually saw this bird in Alderney, 

 it cannot be rare, as I had no less than fifteen eggs brought to me in 

 1899, and others again the two following years. On June 2nd, 1902, a 

 boy brought me three eggs of the pink or reddish variety, which is 

 rather uncommon. 



Missel Thrush. — Forty years ago, according to Smith, this bird was fairly 

 common in Alderney, but at the present time I should call it rare. Of 

 hundreds of eggs brought me by boys those of the Missel Thrush only 

 occurred once, on April 17, 1901, when a lad brought me a couple which 

 he had just taken, and he did not know what bird they belonged to. 



Ring" Ouzel. — As Mr. Smith says he never saw one of these birds either dead 

 or alive in the Channel Islands in the spring or summer (although King 

 Ouzels are as frequent in Alderney as in Guernsey during the autumnal 

 migration) it may be well to note that at the beginning of April, 1903, 

 Capt. Arnold, of Balmoral, captured one in his garden, and described it 

 to me as "a blackbird with a white neck." 



Hedge Sparrow.— In 1900, I heard the cheerful song of a Hedge Sparrow 

 as early as the 25th of February. 



Redstart. — In Smith's '' Birds of Guernsey " the occurrence of the Bedstart 

 in these islands is considered rather dubious, and the author seems to 

 imply that the Black Bedstart may have been mistaken for it. I am 

 glad to be able to settle this point as regards Alderney, for I have had 

 the eggs brought to me every year. They are considerably smaller and 

 much paler blue than the Hedge Sparrow's (more like a Starling's egg in 

 colour) and the shell extremely thin and fragile. The eggs of the Black 

 Bedstart on the other hand are pure white, and moreover there is no 

 positive evidence that the latter species has ever bred in the British 

 Islands. But there is a curious point about the nidification of the 

 Alderney Redstart which deserves notice. Seebohm, in his splendid book 

 on British Birds' Eggs, writes concerning the common Bedstart : " "We 

 must not seek its nests among the branches, nor yet amidst the brambles 

 or vegetation on the ground, but always in some hole, well protected from 

 the wind : holes in walls and trees are, as a rule selected, but most 

 peculiar sites are sometimes chosen, for example, gateposts, flower pots, 

 and crevices under the eaves. Indeed, in this respect, the Bedstart is 

 almost as famous as the Bobin." All the other books I have consulted 

 agree in describing the nesting-place as anywhere except a bush Now 

 I made a point of enquiring particularly from the Alderney boys what 

 the nest was like, and where it was built, and in every case they described 

 it as being like a Linnet's nest and built in a furze bush, or (in one case) 

 among brambles. 



