28 REPORTS. 



Cuckoo. The Cuckoo also made an early appearance— in fact in our 

 eleven year record we have no earlier date, and only one as early 

 (in 1905). On April 13th, Mrs. G. G. Tardif, of Le Friquet, St. 

 Martin's, heard the note in the Yallon trees, close to Moulin Huet, 

 and the following day myself and others heard it at the same place. 

 On the 1 5th it was heard at Becq du Nez by Mr. H. C. Le Messurier, 

 and, as reported by the late Mr. E. Durman, of the Victoria Hotel, 

 at St. Saviour's as well ; on the 16th in the grounds at Havilland 

 Hall, Yauquiedor, by Mrs. S. Henry, and on the 17th Mr. Hocart 

 heard it at the Yale. At Torteval Mr. Tourtel gives the 21st as the 

 earliest date for that comer of Guernsey. On the same day that 

 the bird was first heard here (April 13th) the .Evening Press of the 

 17th reported it as having been both seen and heard at Alderney 

 also, and for Sark, April 18th has been given me by Miss E Henry 

 as the date of arrival of the bird in that island. Similarly to the 

 "Wryneck again, the Cuckoo ceased to be heard unusually early. 

 Personally I noted the call daily from June 14th to 21st, on the 23rd, 

 and, for the last time (in the Sausmarez grounds), on the 25th. 

 This also happens to be the last day on which the bird was heard by 

 Miss Henry (in Havilland Hall trees), Mr. Rammell, and, at the 

 Yale, by Mr. Hocart, At Torteval Mr. Tourtel did not hear the 

 bird after June 21st. In normal seasons the Cuckoo can still be 

 heard in the early days of July, and I may add that in our Society's 

 ornithological record there is no such early date as June 25th for 

 last hearing this bird. 



Swallow.— One day later than last year, viz., on April 10th, Swallows 

 began to arrive in the island, the first being noted by Mr. Hocart 

 on that day. This, by the way, is an early date for the arrival of 

 the bird here, but not a record, for in 1909 Mr. E. D. Marquand saw 

 one at Houmet Homtolle on the 6th. On the 15th of April (1913) 

 I saw a couple near Morley Chapel, and during the afternoon of the 

 same day Mr. Ramniell saw half-a-dozen at St. Andrew's. It was 

 not, however, until towards the end of the month that one noticed 

 them in bigger numbers. As already mentioned there was a 

 marked scarcity of the Swallow all through the summer. Mr. 

 Hocart, writing from the north of the island, said : " Few in May, 

 but more plentiful in June. They left the Yale early in September," 

 and he adds, " I saw the last on October 2nd, they appeared to be 

 stragglers going south." Almost all through October I saw a few 

 here and there, mostly at St. Martin's, and the last (at Les Blanches) 

 on the 27th, which was also my last date for seeing the bird in 1912. 

 I have an interesting note of Mr. RammeH's. On October 16th, in 

 the afternoon, he saw a company of some thirty to forty swallows 

 flying about over the Petit Bot cliffs. Were these local birds, pre- 

 paring for the southward flight, I wonder, or some that had halted 

 here on their way from farther north? At Alderney, Swallows 

 apparently arrived earlier in the spring than here, for the Evening 

 Press of April 7th reported, on the authority of Mr. A. C. Tourgis, 

 of Les Chevaliers, St. Martin's, that some were then to be seen 

 flying over the Blayes and fields. 



House Martin.— Of the actual arrival of the House Martin I can give 

 you no information. Mr. Rammell reported seeing some several 

 times during May, but could give me no dates, and 1 did not see 

 any myself until the 31st of that month. Mr. Sinel, of Jersey, who 

 was here on April 10th, told me that he had seen Martins in that 

 island some days previously. The House Martin is known to arrive 

 ordinarily quite as early and to remain with us as late, as the Swal- 

 low, and as a matter of fact, our Transactions give both an earlier 



