240 BIRDS OF ALDEENET. 



Wheatear. —Very common in Alderney, where it is known by the name of 

 " Stone Jack." 



Chiffehaff. — The earliest date on which I have heard the curious note of 

 this little bird was the 2nd of April, that was in 1903 ; the previous year 

 I first heard it on April 23. 



Golden-Crested Wren. — I only saw this tiny little bird once : on April 

 10th, 1900, flitting about the trees in the valley behind Essex House. 



Tree Creeper.— Decidedly rare: two eggs were brought me in May, 1899. 

 1 have lately ascertained that this little bird is locally known in Guernsey 

 by the patois name of v " Epluque-pommier," a name misapplied by 

 Victor Hugo in one of his novels to the Long-tailed Tit. 



Wall Creeper (Tichodroma innmrtaJ.—This is undoubtedly the rarest bird 

 that has ever visited Alderney, so far as we have any record. It is 

 a native of Southern Europe, and until the arrival of the one I am about 

 to mention, only three specimens had been seen in the British Isles, viz. : 

 one more than a century ago, in 1792, the second in 1876, and the third 

 at a later date which I cannot give at this moment. On the 19th 

 of December, 1899, young Mr. Le Maistre brought me for identification a 

 beautiful specimen of this little bird, from which I made the following 

 description : 



Length from tip of beak to end of tail, 6| inches ; length of beak, 

 which is long and curved, 1 3-16 inch ; length of tarsus, f inch. 



Upper part of head and back slate grey. Throat white or very pale grey. 

 Belly slate colour. Forehead tinged with ochreous brown. Wings 

 marked with bright crimson, but the greater portion dark brown. Four 

 first primaries dark brown, each with two large white spots ; the fifth and 

 succeeding primaries each with one buff-coloured spot. Fpper web of 

 the central primaries and wing-coverts crimson. Tail dark brown, the 

 main feathers tipped with grey, two outer tail feathers on each side 

 broadly edged with white. 



Mr. Le Maistre, who was with the man (Charles Kimber) that shot the 

 bird, told me they noticed it for some time flying about and settling on a 

 stone in a quarry, and as they fancied there was something uncommon 

 about the bird, Kimber shot it, though neither of them had the least idea 

 of its rarity. The specimen was afterwards stuffed, and is now in Mr. Le 

 Maistre 's possession. 



Nightingale. — This bird is not mentioned by Smith at all, but 1 recorded 

 its occurrence in Guernsey some years ago. Capt. Hasted, of the 

 Wiltshire Begiment, who was stationed in Alderney for two years, 

 informed me that he had both heard and seen a nightingale on one 

 occasion in Alderney. 



Great Tit. — This is an exceedingly scarce bird in Alderney, and I lived 

 there two years and a half before I saw one. In November, 1901, 

 several were seen by me at different times, and then they disappeared. I 

 saw two in October the following year, and one in May, 1903. Smith 

 says the Blue Tit is resident in all the Channel Islands, but I have seen 

 no specimen, either of the bird or its eggs, during my four years' 

 residence in Alderney. Nor have I seen any of the other Tits. 



Rock Pipit. — During my visit to the islet of Burhou in May, 1899, one of the 

 boatmen found a nest containing five eggs in the roof of the cottage. 

 These eggs, which are now in my collection, are of two different shades 

 of colour — three are dark brown and two are reddish. 



Snow Bunting. — In the first week of November, 1902, a pan of Snow 

 Buntings were seen on several occasions close to the Old Harbour. Then 

 one of them disappeared, and soon afterwards the other was seen no 

 more. 



Bullfinch. — Capt. Hasted told me he had on (I think) two different occasions 

 seen this bird in Alderney. 



