198 REPORTS. 



What do the birds know of war and rumours of war ? 

 The j quarrel and squabble amongst themselves and indulge 

 occasionally in family troubles it is true, but how much 

 shedding of blood does this involve ? No, they are too 

 full of the joy of life, too happy in the enjoyment of the 

 sunshine, the rain and the wind, too busy in the prosecution 

 of their domestic affairs to find time or inclination to engage 

 in sanguinary conflicts. Civilisation or what passes for it 

 is alone capable of such savagery. 



And now the birds are again gone, but only for a 

 little while. In a few months' time they will be back with 

 us once more. In the meantime let me give you the results 

 of this year's observations of myself and several members 

 of our Society, as well as of some others who have supplied 

 me with valued notes. To all who have helped I take 

 this opportunity to tender hearty thanks. 



And let me begin with an extract from an interesting 

 letter sent me by Dr. Creswell, of Le Guet, Castel. He 

 says : " This year Cuckoos and Wrynecks have been by 

 no means so numerous as formerly. Of the former I have 

 only watched the feeding of two young ones, one by a 

 Meadow Pipit in my own premises, and another by a 

 Robin in the grounds of the Sanatorium. And whereas 

 in former years I could see or hear a fair number in my 

 immediate neighbourhood (on one occasion I saw five at 

 the same time flying over the adjoining common) this year 

 there seemed to be only two anywhere near my house, 

 evidently the parents of the Meadow Pipit's foster child. 



" Of Wrynecks I have neither seen nor heard one this 

 year, though previously I have always had them in my 

 own garden. There has also been a shortage of Linnets 

 and Skylarks on the Guet common as compared with past 

 years. Magpies too, hardly seem as numerous anywhere 

 in the island as they used to be, and as these birds are very 

 conspicuous and not at all shy, my motoring has actually 

 given me an increased facility for their observation. 



" Last year I used to see flocks of about a dozen or 

 eighteen Grey Wagtails (M. melanope) feeding on the dunes 

 at Port Soif in September and October, running about 

 quite close to me and well shewing their yellow underparts 

 relieved by their intensely black gorgets. It was always 

 a pretty sight. But this year I have seen none, though that 

 is probably due more to my rapid travel than to their absence. 



" The Kingfishers that used to haunt the rocks just 

 below my house seem to have disappeared, and I have 



